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THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


"When  the  Indian  trail  gets  widened,  graded,  and  bridged  to  a  good  road,  there  is  a  benefac- 
tor, there  is  a  missionary,  a  pacificator,  a  wealth  bringer,  a  maker  of  markets,  a  vent  for  industry." 

Ralph  Waldo  Emerson. 

"  So,  if  there  is  any  kind  of  advancement  going  on,  if  new  ideas  are  abroad  and  new  hopes 
arising,  then  you  will  see  it  by  the  roads  that  are  building." 

Horace  Bushnell. 


"Dipping  into  the  valley  and  then  rising  over  successive  hills" 

Plate  I  —  Norfolk  and  Bristol  Turnpike  in  Wrentham,  Massachusetts 


THE  TURNPIKES 
OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

AND 

EVOLUTION  OF  THE  SAME  THROUGH  ENGLAND, 
VIRGINIA,  AND  MARYLAND 


BY 


FREDERIC  I.  WOOD 

MEMBER   AMERICAN  SOCIETY  OF  CIVIL  ENGINEERS 

MEMBER  BOSTON  SOCIETY  OF  CIVIL  ENGINEERS 

MEMBER   NEW  ENGLAND  HISTORIC  GENEALOGICAL  SOCIETY 

AND  LATELY  MAJOR  OF  ENGINEERS,  UNITED  STATES  ARMY 


BOSTON 

MARSHALL  JONES  COMPANY 

MDCCCCXIX 


COPYRICHT,     I  9  19, 
BY    MARSHALL    JONES    COMPANY 


All  rights  reserved 


First  printing,   191 9 


THE    UNIVERSITY    PRESS,    CAMBRIDGE,    U.  S.  A. 


2De&icate& 

TO 

CHARLES  A.  STONE,  EDWIN  S.  WEBSTER 
AND  RUSSELL  ROBB 

M.  I.  T.   '88 

IN  APPRECIATION  OF  THE  CONTINUANCE 

OF  THE  FRIENDSHIP  OF 

COLLEGE  DAYS 


816574 


f 


PREFACE 

MAJOR  WOOD,  who  labors  under  the  impression  that  I  have 
some  general  knowledge  regarding  turnpikes  and  toll  bridges, 
has  asked  me  to  write  a  brief  introduction  to  the  present 
work.  The  task  is  an  agreeable  one,  though  I  am  fully  conscious  of 
my  limitations. 

Turnpikes  and  toll  bridges  are  hardly  more  than  names  to  the  pres- 
ent generation,  more  especially  as  the  economic  historians  have  had 
neither  the  time  nor,  apparently,  the  inclination  to  make  a  careful  in- 
vestigation of  the  subject.  The  task  of  compiling  the  data  necessary 
for  such  an  investigation  was  an  exceptionally  arduous  one.  Here  and 
there  an  effort  was  made  to  do  the  subject  some  sort  of  justice,  as,  for 
example,  in  the  chapter  on  toll  bridges  and  turnpike  companies  in  Mr. 
Joseph  Stancliff  Davis'  valuable  "  Essays  in  the  Earlier  History  of 
American  Corporations." 

Personally  I  am  convinced  that  no  real  understanding  of  the  trans- 
portation problem  now  exercising  the  people  of  the  United  States  is 
possible  without  an  understanding  of  the  facts  attending  the  origin  and 
development  of  our  earlier  and  practically  forgotten  transportation 
facilities. 

Our  public  utilities,  as  we  now  construe  that  term,  have  no  past  to 
speak  of.  The  telephone,  electric  light,  and  electric  traction  are  all  the 
product  of  the  last  half-century.  The  telegraph  antedates  this  period 
by  a  few  years.  The  railroads  date  back  to  1829  and  gas  to  18 16. 
Back  of  that  was  the  period  of  turnpikes  and  toll  bridges.  The  last 
mentioned,  with  the  waterworks  dating  from  about  the  same  period, 
were  our  earliest  public  utilities. 

Many  persons  now  alive  can  recall  the  toll  bridges,  and  some  have 
had  experience  with  the  toll  road,  though  the  latter  saw  its  palmy  days 
around  1830,  and  the  former  almost  immediately  after.  Within  a 
few  years  of  the  close  of  the  Civil  War  both  were  virtually  things  of 
the  past,  though  traces  of  them  can  still  be  found  in  rural  communities. 
These  facts  remind  us  that  we  are  still  a  new  country  with  limited 
economic  experience.  The  private  corporation  is  but  a  thing  of  yester- 
day. This  country  had  practically  no  knowledge  of  it  before  the  Revo- 
lutionary War.  Its  beginning  was  purely  tentative  and  its  early  methods 
were  largely  fortuitous.  It  was  created  to  meet  real  needs,  for  the 
satisfaction  of  which  there  were  only  limited  supplies  of  capital. 

The  attitude  of  the  public  toward  private  corporations  furnishing 

[vii] 


PREFACE 


public  utilities  is  highly  critical  to-day,  but  it  was  not  less  so  a  century 
ago.  The  capital  supplying  the  turnpikes  and  toll  bridges,  like  that 
supplying  railroads,  telegraph,  and  telephone,  was,  in  fact,  subjected 
to  two  risks:  first,  the  ordinary  business  risk;  and  secondly,  a  risk  inci- 
dental to  the  fear  of  arbitrary  interference  by  a  public  whose  precon- 
ceptions were  of  an  unfriendly  nature.  It  is  quite  possible  that  if  the 
experience  of  the  turnpikes  and  toll  bridges  had  been  a  matter  of 
common  knowledge  in  the  last  half-century,  many  of  the  problems  aris- 
ing in  connection  with  our  transportation  facilities  would  have  been 
avoided. 

The  present  work  is  exceptional  among  productions  of  its  class, 
inasmuch  as  the  author  approaches  his  subject  from  at  least  three  very 
different  points  of  view,  and  with  equal  success.  There  is  a  fine  balance 
in  the  treatment  of  the  engineering,  the  economic  and  the  archaeological 
aspects  of  the  turnpikes  and  toll  bridges,  and  for  this  reason  the  work 
may  be  safely  commended  to  the  general  reader,  who  may  be  assured 
that  in  this  case  at  least  an  interesting  narrative  does  not  imply  super- 
ficial knowledge.  So  far  as  my  own  knowledge  of  the  subject  goes, 
Major  Wood  has  compiled  the  first  exhaustive  and  authoritative  work 
on  American  turnpikes.  The  title  he  has  chosen  would  seem  to  limit 
his  discussion  to  the  turnpikes  of  New  England,  yet  in  reality  he  affords 
us  a  general  survey  of  the  entire  country. 

Major  Wood  has  devoted  ten  years  to  his  task.  As  a  civil  engineer, 
with  his  long  experience  in  railroad  field  work,  he  has  possessed  excep- 
tional facilities  for  investigating  his  subject  in  its  geographical,  its 
engineering,  and  its  economic  aspects.  But  the  turnpike  is  more  than 
an  engineering  or  an  economic  concept  to  Major  Wood.  His  interest 
in  far-off  forgotten  days  impregnates  every  part  of  the  present  work, 
vitalizing  the  conclusions  arising  from  a  study  of  the  engineering  and 
economic  data. 

Frederic  J.  Whiting. 


[via] 


AUTHOR'S    PREFACE 

IN  1908,  in  connection  with  a  report  on  certain  transportation  facili- 
ties which  I  was  preparing,  I  ventured  into  the  historical  side  of 
the  question,  and  soon  ran  into  references  to  this  and  that  turnpike. 
My  efforts  to  gather  data  on  that  subject  were  fruitless;  the  extensive 
public  library  to  which  I  had  access  yielding  nothing  but  a  work  of  fiction 
under  the  word  "turnpike,"  and  our  most  comprehensive  index  giving 
only  five  references,  three  of  which  were  purely  local.  Gradually  the 
search  became  a  habit,  no  opportunity  to  learn  more  on  the  subject  being 
neglected,  and,  as  the  data  accumulated,  the  idea  grew :  first  to  prepare  a 
brief  magazine  article,  next  a  full  story  of  some  special  road,  then  to 
cover  Massachusetts,  and  finally  all  New  England.  Here  and  there  in 
local  histories  brief  articles  were  found;  but  in  the  main  the  facts  pre- 
sented in  the  following  pages  were  gleaned  from  old  records,  in  the 
perusal  of  which  I  soon  acquired  the  habit  of  blowing  the  dust  from 
each  volume  top  as  I  took  it  from  its  long-undisturbed  resting  place. 
The  labor  has  been  long  but  full  of  interest.  May  its  presentation  prove 
interesting  as  well. 

My  employment  in  civil  life  taking  me  well  over  New  England,  and 
my  subsequent  two  years  in  army  service  requiring  travel  over  the  entire 
eastern  section  of  the  United  States,  I  was  enabled  to  secure  most  of  the 
pictures  which  are  reproduced  herein  myself;  but  acknowledgment  is 
due  to  George  R.  Groesbeck,  official  photographer  at  the  Hog  Island 
Shipyard,  for  the  more  than  professional  interest  which  he  took  in  devel- 
oping the  same.  Others  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  photographs  are 
Miss  Cora  S.  Cobb  of  Newton,  Mass.,  for  the  artistic  picture  of  the  old 
Cook  Tavern;  A.  Hutton  Vignolles  of  Newton,  for  the  views  in  Craw- 
ford Notch;  Miss  Ellen  A.  Webster  of  Cambridge,  Mass.,  for  the  pic- 
tures of  the  Webster  Tavern;  I.  Chester  Horton  of  Canton,  Mass.,  for 
the  snow  scene  on  the  Stoughton  Turnpike;  Martin  Baker  of  Marshfield, 
Mass.;  William  H.  Blood,  Jr.,  of  Wellesley,  Mass.;  Professor  Frederic 
W.  Brown  of  Bowdoin  College;  Mrs.  Irwin  C.  Cromack,  Dorchester, 
Mass.;  Allan  W.  Crowell,  Washington,  D.  C;  Howard  P.  Fessenden, 
Newton,  Mass.;  C.  Elmer  Gane,  Allston,  Mass.;  Jerome  F.  Hale,  Wells 
River,  Vt. ;  Miss  Martha  E.  Knight,  Camden,  Maine;  Arthur  J.  Shea, 
Dorchester,  Mass.;  Dana  M.  Wood,  Belmont,  Mass.;  Walter  S.  Wood, 
Concord,  Mass. ;  A.  Stuart  Pratt,  manager  of  the  Blue  Hill  Street  Rail- 
way; Fairbanks  Museum  of  Natural  Science,  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt. ;  Na- 
tional Museum,  Washington,  D.  C.;  Shorey  Studio,  Gorham,  N.  H. ; 
and  the  Stone  and  Webster  Engineering  Department,  Boston. 

[ix] 


AUTHOR'S    PREFACE 


To  Messrs.  Edward  W.  Baird  of  Roslindale,  Mass.,  William  H. 
Blood,  Jr.,  Wellesley,  Mass.,  William  A.  Buck,  Willimantic,  Conn., 
George  A.  Carter,  Jr.,  Brockton,  Mass.,  Nelson  H.  Daniels,  Bedford, 
Mass.,  Arthur  W.  Gates,  Willimantic,  Conn.,  Dr.  Byron  G.  Ingalls  and 
Francis  M.  Perry,  Foxboro,  Mass.,  George  H.  Wetherbee,  Jr.,  Brain- 
tree,  Mass.,  and  Walter  S.  Wood,  Concord,  Mass.,  is  due  my  personal 
acquaintance  with  many  old  turnpikes  which  I  was  enabled  to  acquire 
by  the  kind  contribution  of  their  time  and  automobiles. 

Valued  assistance  has  been  had  from  Philip  H.  Borden,  city  engineer 
of  Fall  River,  George  A.  Carpenter,  M.  Am.  Soc.  C.  E.,  city  engineer  of 
Pawtucket,  Samuel  Hartshorn,  town  clerk  of  Franklin,  Conn.,  William 
J.  McClellan,  historian,  Baltimore,  Howard  G.  Philbrook,  Boston,  Her- 
bert E.  Sherman,  M.  Am.  Soc.  C.  E.,  Providence,  Arthur  C.  Sprague, 
Wollaston,  Mass.,  Irwin  C.  Cromack  of  the  Boston  Street  Department, 
and  a  host  of  others,  among  whom  I  must  include  the  officials  of  the 
many  state,  county,  and  town  offices,  especially  the  present  clerk  of  Nor- 
folk courts,  Robert  B.  Worthington,  whose  patience  was  always  proof 
against  my  attacks. 

And,  lastly,  to  my  own  home  surroundings,  to  the  two  whose  faith 
and  confidence  in  my  ability  to  pilot  unknown  fields  always  upheld  me, 
whose  sympathy  and  encouragement  ever  spurred  me,  is  due  the  greatest 
debt  of  all. 

Frederic  J.  Wood. 
Brookline,  Mass.,  October  15,  1919. 


[x] 


CONTENTS 

PAGE 

Preliminary  and  General 3 

The  Lancaster  Turnpike 1 1 

Gallatin's  Report 14 

Efforts  of  the  United  States  Government 18 

The  Cumberland  or  Old  National  Road 19 

The  Maysville  Pike 23 

New  England  Roads  of  the  Colonial  Period 24 

The  First  Public-Service  Corporations 31 

How  the  Work  was  done 37 

Plank  Roads 38 

The  Vehicles  that  used  the  Turnpikes 43 

The  Turnpikes  of  Massachusetts 57 

The  Turnpikes  of  Maine 211 

The  Turnpikes  of  New  Hampshire 215 

The  Turnpikes  of  Vermont' 249 

The  Turnpikes  of  Rhode  Island 287 

The  Turnpikes  of  Connecticut 331 

Ending  as  it  began 411 

Bibliography 4J5 

Index 427 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Plate 

I 

II 

III 

IV 

V 

VI 

VII 

VIII 

IX 
X 

XI 

XII 


XIII 

XIV 

XV 

XVI 

XVII 

XVIII 

XIX 

XX 

XXI 

XXII 

XXIII 

XXIV 
XXV 


FULL-PAGE    ILLUSTRATIONS 

Facing  Page 
Norfolk  and  Bristol  Turnpike  in  Wrentham,  Mass.  Frontispiece 

Views  of  Little  River  Turnpike,  Va 4 

Views  of  Little  River  Turnpike,  Va 5 

Views  of  Little  River  Turnpike,  Va 6 

Views  of  Reisterstown  Turnpike,  Md 7 

Views  of  Baltimore  and  York  Turnpike,  Md 10 

Views  of  Baltimore  and  Frederick  Turnpike,  Md.    .    .  11 
Views   of   Hagerstown   and   Conococheague   Turnpike, 

Md 12 

Locks  on  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Canal 13 

A.  Wooden  Plow 36 

B.  Digging  and  Removing  Beacon  Hill,  Boston     ...  36 

A.  Dr.  Brown's  Chaise 37 

B.  Wagon  made  by  Thaddeus  Fairbanks 37 

A.  Concord  Coach .  44 

B.  Egg-shaped  Coach 44 

C.  Primitive  Sledge 44 

D.  Conestoga  Wagon 44 

E.  First  Train  on  Mohawk  and  Hudson  Railroad,  1831  44 

Views  of  First  Massachusetts  Turnpike 64 

Views  of  Fifth  Massachusetts  Turnpike 68 

Views  of  Ninth  Massachusetts  Turnpike 69 

Views  of  Salem  Turnpike 76 

Views  of  Salem  Turnpike 77 

Views  of  Norfolk  and  Bristol  Turnpike 86 

Views  of  Norfolk  and  Bristol  Turnpike 87 

Views  of  Norfolk  and  Bristol  Turnpike 90 

Views  of  Norfolk  and  Bristol  Turnpike 91 

Broadside  of  the  Bangor  and  Waterville  Stage  Line     .  106 
Broadside   of   Boston,    Plymouth,    and   Sandwich   Mail 

Stage 114 

Views  of  Cambridge  and  Concord  Turnpike 118 

Views  of  Cambridge  and  Concord  Turnpike 119 

[xiii] 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Plate 

XXVI 

XXVII 

XXVIII 

XXIX 

XXX 

XXXI 

XXXII 

XXXIII 

XXXIV 

XXXV 

XXXVI 

XXXVII 

XXXVIII 

XXXIX 

XL 

XLI 

XLII 

XLIII 

XLIV 

XLV 

XLVI 

XLVII 
XLVIII 

XLIX 
L 

LI 

LII 
LIII 
LIV 


LV 


Facing  Page 

Views  of  Newburyport  Turnpike 122 

Views  of  Essex  Turnpike 123 

Views  of  Essex  Turnpike 130 

Views  of  Essex  Turnpike 131 

Old  Church,  Bridge,  and  View  of  New  Bedford  and 

Bridgewater  Turnpike 132 

Views  of  Union  Turnpike 133 

Views  of  Union  Turnpike 140 

Views  of  Blue  Hill  Turnpike 141 

Views  of  Hartford  and  Dedham  Turnpike    ....  142 

Views  of  Brush  Hill  and  Plum  Island  Turnpikes  .    .    .  143 

Views  of  Andover  and  Medford  Turnpike     ....  146 

Views  of  Andover  and  Medford  Turnpike     ....  147 

Views  of  Middlesex  Turnpike 150 

Views  of  Middlesex  Turnpike 151 

Views  of  Middlesex  Turnpike 154 

Views  of  Worcester  and  Stafford  Turnpike 155 

Views  of  Worcester  Turnpike 158 

Views  of  Worcester  Turnpike 159 

Views  of  Worcester  Turnpike 162 

Northerly  end,  Stoughton  Turnpike 163 

Views  of  Stoughton  Turnpike  and  Douglas,   Sutton, 

and  Oxford  Turnpike 174 

Views  of  Taunton  and  South  Boston  Turnpike  .    .    .  175 

A.  Hingham  and  Quincy  Bridge  and  Turnpike  .    .    .  178 

B.  Projected  Route  of  the  Boston  Neck  Turnpike  .  .  178 
Map  of  Boston  at  the  Beginning  of  the  Turnpike  Era, 

1795 •         •    '. I79 

Boston  and  Roxbury  Mill  Corporation 190 

A.  Beacon  Street,  Boston 190 

B.  Boston  Back  Bay  in  1858,  from  the  State  House 

Dome 190 

Views   of   Watertown   Turnpike    and   Cambridge   to 

Watertown   Turnpike 191 

Views  of  Taunton  and  Providence  Turnpike  ....  202 

Granite  Bridge  and  Granite  Railway,  Milton  ....  206 
Views   of  Camden   Turnpike   and  First  Cumberland 

Turnpike 210 

Views  of  Bath  Turnpike  and  Camden  Turnpike  .    .    .  211 


[xiv] 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Plate  Facing  Page 

LVI    Views  of  the  New  Hampshire  Turnpike 218 

LVII    Views  of  Second  and  Third  New  Hampshire  Turn- 
pikes    219 

LVIII    Through  the  Crawford  Notch,  Tenth  New  Hamp- 
shire Turnpike 222 

LIX    Scenes  in  the  Crawford  Notch,  Tenth  New  Hamp- 
shire Turnpike 223 

LX    Webster  Tavern,  Bridgewater,  N.  H 226 

LXI    Lyman    Toll    Bridge,    Mclndoe    Falls,    N.    H.,    and 

Vt 227 

LXII    A.  Dalton  Ferry,  Dalton,  N.  H 230 

B.   First   Littleton   Toll    Bridge,   Upper   Waterford, 

Vt 230 

LXIII    Views  of  Londonderry  and  Mount  Washington  Turn- 
pike   231 

LXIV    Views  of  Mount  Washington  Summit  Road  ....  238 

LXV    Tollhouse. at  the  Foot  of  Mount  Washington  ....  239 
LXVI    Views   of   Bayley-Hazen    Military   Road   and   Wells 

River   Bridge 250 

LXVII    Bellows  Falls  Bridge 260 

LXVIII    Taverns  and  River  Scene  in  Waterford,  Vt 261 

LXIX    Views  of  Passumpsic  Turnpike 268 

LXX    Views  of  Passumpsic  Turnpike 269 

LXXI    Views  of  Passumpsic  Turnpike 274 

LXXII    Scenes  along  Stratton  Turnpike 275 

LXXIII    Scenes  along  Peru  Turnpike 276 

LXXIV    Map.     Turnpikes  of  Greater  Providence 290 

LXXV    Views  of  West  Glocester  Turnpike 291 

LXXVI    Views  of  Rhode  Island  Turnpikes    .'.    .    .    .    .    .    .  292 

LXXVII    Views  of  Glocester  Turnpike 293 

LXXVIII    Views  of  Providence  and  Douglas  Turnpike    ....  300 

LXXIX    Views  of  Powder  Mill  Turnpike 302 

LXXX    Anthony's  Map  of  Providence,  1803 303 

LXXXI    Views  of  Rhode  Island  Turnpikes 311 

LXXXII    Views  of  Mohegan  Road  in  Montville,  Conn.     .    .    .  334 

LXXXIII   Views  of  Hartford  to  Norwich  Turnpike 338 

LXXXIV    A.  Views  of  Windham  and  Brooklyn  Turnpike  .    .    .  339 

B.  Views  of  Hartford  to  Norwich  Turnpike  ....  339 

LXXXV    Views  of  Boston  Turnpike 342 

[xv] 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


Plate  •  Facing  Page 

LXXXVI    Views  of  Boston  Turnpike 343 

LXXXVII    A.  Tollgate    in    Norfolk,    Conn.,    on    Greenwoods 

Turnpike 346 

B.  Views  of  Hartford  and  New  Haven  Turnpike  .  346 

LXXXVIII    Views  of  Windham  Turnpike 347 

LXXXIX    Views  of  Windham  Turnpike 354 

XC    Views  of  Windham  and  Mansfield  Turnpike    .    .    .  355 
XCI    Views  of  Hartford  and  New  London  Turnpike  .    .  358 
XCII    Views  of  Norwich  and  Woodstock  Turnpike    .    .    .  362 
XCIII    Views  of  Hartford  and  Tolland  Turnpike    ....  366 
XCIV    Views  of  Colchester  and  Norwich  and  Warren  Turn- 
pikes      :    ....  367 

XCV    Views  of  Columbia  Turnpike 406 

XCVI    Views  of  Hop  River  Turnpike 407 

XCVII    Views  of  Spotsylvania  County  Turnpike,  Va.    .    .    .  410 

ILLUSTRATIONS    IN    THE    TEXT 

Page 

Norfolk  and  Bristol  Corporation  Stock  Certificate 60 

Third  Massachusetts  Turnpike  Corporation  financial  chart  ...  68 

Fifth  Massachusetts  Turnpike  Corporation  financial  chart     ...  72 

Ninth  Massachusetts  Turnpike   Corporation  financial  chart    .    .  77 

Salem  Turnpike  financial  chart 82 

Chelsea  Bridge  financial  chart 83 

Norfolk  and  Bristol  Turnpike  Corporation  financial  chart     ...  93 

Neponset  Bridge  financial  chart 102 

First  Cumberland  Turnpike  Corporation  financial  chart 107 

Page  from  the  treasurer's  book,  First  Cumberland  Turnpike  Cor- 
poration       108 

Page  from  the  treasurer's  book,  First  Cumberland  Turnpike  Cor- 
poration       109 

Belchertown  and  Greenwich  Turnpike  Corporation  financial  chart  112 

Braintree  and  Weymouth  Turnpike  Corporation  financial  chart  .  116 

Blue  Hill  Turnpike  Corporation  financial  chart 139 

Dorchester  Turnpike  Corporation  financial  chart 143 

The  Arch  in  Brookline 164 

Taunton  and  South  Boston  Turnpike  Corporation  financial  chart  .  174 
Hingham  and  Quincy  Bridge  and  Turnpike  Corporation  financial 

chart 180 

Granite  Bridge  financial  chart 210 

[xvi] 


ILLUSTRATIONS 


MAPS 

Facing  Page 

Turnpikes  of  Massachusetts 57 

Boston  in  1795   (Plate  xlix) 179 

Turnpikes  of  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont 215 

Turnpikes  of  Rhode  Island 287 

Turnpikes  of  Greater  Providence  (Plate  lxxiv) 290 

Providence  in  1803  (Plate  lxxx) 303 

Turnpikes  of  Connecticut 331 


[xvii] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

IN  many  New  England  towns  will  be  found  an  old  road  locally 
known  as  "  the  turnpike,"  or  the  "  old  turnpike,"  over  which  are 
hovering  romantic  traditions  of  the  glory  of  stage-coach  days,  while 
perhaps  a  dilapidated  old  building,  standing  close  beside  its  now  grass- 
grown  pathway,  is  reverently  pointed  out  as  having  occasionally  been 
the  temporary  resting  place  of  men  great  in  our  country's  annals.  But 
aside  from  the  charm  of  such  old  stories  the  inquirer  will  be  able  to 
learn  but  little  for,  strange  to  say,  those  old  roads  have  not  found  their 
place  in  history,  and  what  little  is  known  about  them  seems  to  be  fast 
departing  with  an  older  generation. 

In  the  hope  of  saving  some  of  this  information  an  effort  has  been 
made  to  compile  such  as  is  still  available,  and  the  result  appears  in  the 
following  pages. 

Turnpikes,  as  distinguished  from  the  ordinary  roads  of  the  same 
time,  were  those  on  which  gates  barred  the  progress  of  the  traveler, 
at  which  payments  were  demanded  for  the  privilege  of  using  the  road. 
Such  payment  was  called  "  toll  "  and  the  gates  were  known  as  "  toll- 
gates."  The  privilege  of  building  such  "  turnpikes  "  and  of  collecting 
toll  thereon  was  conferred  by  the  legislatures  of  the  several  states  upon 
various  individuals  under  the  form  of  turnpike  corporations,  and  the 
roads  were  constructed  by  private  capital,  were  privately  owned,  and 
were  operated  for  the  revenue  derived  from  the  collection  of  the  tolls. 

In  the  eighteenth  century  the  name  "  pike  "  seems  to  have  been  ap- 
plied to  anything  terminating  in  a  point  and  the  form  of  gate  now  called 
a  "  turnstile,"  being  made  of  four  crossed  bars  sharpened  at  their  outer 
ends  and  turning  on  a  center,  was  called  a  "  turnpike."  As  this  was 
about  the  only  form  of  gate  in  use  the  name  was  readily  applied  to  the 
tollgates  when  they  first  appeared.1  A  reversion  to  ancient  form  is  thus 
found  in  the  entrances  to  our  elevated  and  subway  systems  and  many 
places  of  amusement  where  we  enter  through  such  "  turnpikes  "  or 
"  turnstiles  "  paying  our  toll  as  we  pass.  The  dictionaries  still  define 
"  turnpike  "  as  a  gate,  and  the  early  charters  allowed  the  building  of 
"  turnpike-roads  "  and  the  erection  of  "  turnpikes  "  across  them.  But 
the  longer  word  soon  became  shortened  and  as  "  turnpikes  "  the  roads 
themselves  were  commonly  known. 

The  earliest  form  of  tolls  was  that  levied  by  organized  bands  of 
robbers,  which  often  took  the  form  of  stated  sums  for  various  circum- 

1  Skeat's  "  Etymological  Dictionary  of  the  English  Language." 

[3] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

stances.  Strabo,  the  ancient  geographer,  tells  that  the  Scenitae,  a  tribe 
of  robbers  and  shepherds  occupying  the  desert  region  between  Babylon 
and  Syria,  exacted  a  moderate  tribute  from  the  merchants  traveling  over 
the  road  through  their  territory  but  did  not  further  molest  them.  As 
the  boldness  of  robber  bands  increased  the  expense  of  protection  against 
their  assaults  grew  heavier  and  the  earliest  form  of  legal  tolls  was  im- 
posed for  that  purpose.  As  Mary  Bateson  recites  in  "  Mediaeval  Eng- 
land "  murage  grants  by  which  towns  were  allowed  to  collect  toll  from 
those  passing  in  and  out,  to  provide  funds  for  the  building  of  protecting 
walls,  were  of  great  antiquity.  For  example,  in  1235  Oxford  was 
granted  by  Henry  III  the  right  to  levy  toll,  once  a  week  for  three  years, 
on  all  entering  the  city.  Every  cart  from  the  same  county  loaded  with 
vendibles  paid  y2 d.,  or  id.  if  from  out  of  the  county.  Each  horse  load, 
except  brushwood,  paid  %d.,  and  y2d.  was  assessed  on  every  horse, 
mare,  ox,  or  cow  brought  to  sell,  while  every  ten  sheep,  goats,  or  pigs 
cost  the  owner  id.  and  proportionally  for  five. 

The  first  turnpike  of  which  we  have  record  dates  from  1346,  when 
Edward  III  granted  the  privilege  of  levying  toll  on  all  passing  from 
St.  Giles's  to  Temple  Bar,  and  toward  Portpool,  now  Gray's  Inn  Lane, 
London,  the  roads  in  those  places  having  become  impassable  for  want 
of  other  provision  for  their  maintenance.1  In  1364  William  Philippe, 
a  hermit  at  St.  Anthony's  Chapel  on  Highgate  Hill,  having  means, 
devoted  himself  and  his  fortune  to  improving  the  road  between  "  Hegh- 
gate  and  Smethfelde,"  for  which  he  was  allowed  to  establish  a  tollgate.2 

In  the  early  days  in  England  the  local  obligation  resting  on  the 
parishes  to  maintain  the  roads  within  their  limits  was  not  felt  to  be  a 
heavy  burden,  as  proper  roads  were  wanted  for  the  convenience  of  the 
inhabitants  themselves,  and  the  rare  occasions  on  which  members  of  the 
royal  family  journeyed  over  them  did  not  add  noticeably  to  the  wear 
and  tear.  But  as  trade  developed  and  travel  increased,  in  consequence, 
the  effect  was  seen  in  the  frequent  need  of  repairs  and  a  demand  arose 
that  those  responsible  for  the  injury  to  the  roads  should  bear  the  burden, 
and  that  the  parishes  should  not  be  obliged  to  maintain  roads  for  the 
use  of  outsiders. 

As  a  result  of  this  feeling  the  "  Great  North  Road  to  York  and 
Scotland,"  which  was  "  an  ancient  highway  and  post  road  "  and  which 
had  fallen  into  very  bad  order  in  consequence  of  the  great  amount  of 
alien  travel  over  it,  was  the  subject  of  the  first  English  turnpike  act  in 
1663  in  the  reign  of  Charles  II.  Under  this  act  the  justices  of  each  of 
the  counties  traversed  were  to  appoint  surveyors,  who  were  to  provide 
road  material  and  call  for  labor  under  the  highway  laws  for  the  purpose 
of  putting  the  road  into  complete  repair.  That  accomplished,  the  sur- 
veyors were  further  authorized  to  erect  tollgates  and  appoint  toll 
gatherers  for  the  collection  of  tolls  from  which  the  road  was  thence- 
forth to  be  kept  in  repair.     For  a  quarter  of  a  century  this  was  the  only 

1  Chambers'  "Cyclopedia."  '  Cornhill  Magazine,  1864. 

[4] 


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THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

road  thus  maintained,  but  later  a  few  acts  at  a  time  were  passed  until 
about  1760.  Practically  all  of  the  gates  at  that  date  were  within  one 
hundred  miles  of  London. 

In  the  fourteen  years  following  1760  four  hundred  and  fifty-three  acts 
creating  turnpikes  were  passed  by  Parliament,  but  a  departure  from  the 
principle  of  Charles  II  was  made.  Instead  of  requiring  that  the  desig- 
nated road  should  first  be  put  in  thorough  repair  by  the  parish  in  which 
it  lay,  a  turnpike  trust  was  created  with  jurisdiction  over  such  road  and 
having  authority  to  borrow  money  on  the  security  of  the  tolls  which  it 
was  thereafter  to  collect.     Edwin  A.  Pratt  has  written:1 

Under  the  conditions  actually  brought  about  it  was  left  for  any  group  of  land- 
owners and  others  in  any  particular  district  where  better  roads  were  needed  to  apply 
to  Parliament  for  an  act  authorizing  them  to  raise  a  loan  in  order  to  meet  the 
initial  cost  of  making  or  repairing  a  road,  and  to  set  up  gates  or  bars  where  they 
could  enforce  payment  of  tolls  out  of  which  to  recoup  themselves  for  their  ex- 
penditure and  meet  the  cost  of  maintenance.  Theoretically  these  were  temporary 
expedients,  and  the  turnpike  trustees,  having  once  provided  a  good  road  and  got 
their  money  back,  would  take  down  the  tollgates  and  leave  the  road  for  the  free 
use  of  the  public.  Hence  every  turnpike  act  was  granted  only  for  a  limited  period, 
generally  about  twenty  years,  and  had  to  be  renewed  at  the  end  of  that  term  if, 
as  invariably  happened,  the  debt  on  the  road  had  not  been  cleared  off  and  the  need 
for  toll  collecting  still  remained. 

There  was  no  general  arrangement  or  comprehensive  scheme  in  the 
allotment  of  these  trusts,  but  they  were  granted  indiscriminately,  form- 
ing separate  units  not  part  of  a  connected  plan.  Many  abuses  grew  up 
in  their  operation,  as  there  was  no  check  on  their  financial  operations 
and  the  trustees  were  too  carelessly  selected.  One  responsible  officer 
was  required,  the  surveyor,  but  no  trusts  were  in  receipt  of  sufficient 
revenue  to  enable  them  to  employ  a  competent  man  for  the  position. 
The  receipts  were  never  sufficient  to  pay  the  interest  on  the  loans  and 
meet  the  extravagant  costs  of  mismanagement,  and  when  the  railroads 
began  to  reduce  the  incomes  the  situation  became  desperate. 

By  1838  Parliament  had  passed  thirty-eight  hundred  private  and  local 
turnpike  acts,  and  had  created  in  England  and  Wales  eleven  hundred 
and  sixteen  trusts  controlling  twenty-two  thousand  miles  of  roads.  The 
money  borrowed  under  authority  of  these  acts  amounted,  in  1839,  to 
over  nine  million  pounds  with  unpaid  interest  of  more  than  a  million 
pounds  additional.  In  their  frantic  efforts  to  meet  the  increasing  ex- 
penses the  trustees  not  only  sought  authority  to  collect  an  increased  rate 
of  tolls  but,  of  their  own  accord,  erected  additional  gates  to  the  maxi- 
mum allowance.  Thus,  in  1864,  a  traveler  over  the  twenty-one  miles 
between  Ledbury  and  Kingston  was  halted  at  eight  gates :  four  barred 
the  way  on  the  eight  miles  from  Ledbury  to  Newent;  and  Ledbury  to 
Worcester,  thirteen  miles,  had  six  interruptions.  On  the  Middlesex 
side  of  London  there  were  one  hundred  gates  within  a  radius  of  four 
miles. 

1  "A  History  of  Inland  Transport  and  Communication  in  England." 

[5] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

Although  the  fundamental  principle  on  which  the  turnpike  trust  sys- 
tem was  based,  was  that  of  transferring  the  cost  from  the  parishes  to 
the  users  of  the  roads,  the  parishes  did  not  escape  their  obligations  and, 
in  addition  to  their  citizens  having  to  pay  toll  for  the  use  of  the  roads, 
were  obliged  to  meet  the  deficiencies  and  help  keep  up  the  repairs.  Fur- 
ther the  bondholders  had  a  right  of  foreclosure  under  which  many  of 
them  actually  seized  the  roads  and  appropriated  all  the  collections  to 
their  own  use,  leaving  all  the  expense  of  maintenance  on  the  parishes. 
The  oppressive  burden  of  paying  excessive  tolls  and  the  required  taxes 
to  maintain  the  roads  produced  great  discontent,  and  riots  resulted  in 
many  sections. 

The  most  serious  were  in  Wales  in  1843  and  1844,  where  a  band 
of  rioters  calling  themselves  "  Rebeccaites  "  (in  allusion  to  Genesis 
xxiv.  60)  carried  on  the  systematic  demolition  of  tollgates  and  houses 
for  nearly  a  year.  The  inquiry  resulting  from  these  disturbances  showed 
that  a  real  and  serious  grievance  existed,  and  steps  were  at  once  taken 
to  relieve  the  distressing  conditions.  An  appropriation  of  two  hundred 
thousand  pounds  was  made  to  reduce  the  turnpike  debt  in  that  section, 
by  which  it  was  made  possible  to  consolidate  many  of  the  trusts  and 
reduce  the  number  of  the  gates. 

In  1864  the  systematic  reduction  of  the  trusts  was  commenced  in 
England  and  from  one  thousand  to  eighteen  hundred  miles  of  turnpikes 
were  made  free  each  year,  Parliament  making  appropriations  to  help 
in  the  maintenance  and  authorizing  local  borrowings  to  pay  off  the  debts 
of  the  trusts. 

From  the  annual  reports  of  the  local  government  board  it  is  seen 
that  at  the  close  of  1864  there  were  in  existence  ten  hundred  and  forty- 
eight  trusts  controlling  20,589  miles  of  turnpikes.  By  1886  the  number 
of  trusts  had  been  reduced  to  twenty  with  seven  hundred  miles  of  roads, 
and  in  1890  seventy-seven  miles  were  controlled  by  five  trusts.  By  the 
end  of  1896  the  last  turnpike  had  vanished  from  English  soil. 

To  the  evils  of  the  English  turnpike  system,  however,  the  world  owes 
the  greatest  improvements  in  road  making,  as  both  Telford  and 
Macadam  developed  their  systems  in  efforts  to  improve  the  English 
roads.  It  is  said  that  many  of  the  trusts  which  were  benefited  by 
Macadam's  personal  services  never  even  paid  his  expenses,  for  which 
he  was  subsequently  partially  reimbursed  by  Parliament. 

Originally  the  maintenance  of  roads  was  an  obligation  entirely  on 
the  local  community.  Later  it  was  sought  to  collect  the  cost  of  the  neces- 
sary repairs  from  those  using  the  roads,  from  which  effort  the  turnpikes 
resulted.  In  their  turn  the  turnpikes  fell  from  popular  favor  and  again 
the  entire  burden  of  maintenance  came  upon  the  communities.  Now  we 
are  once  more  approaching  the  principles  of  1663,  when,  with  the 
imposition  of  license  fees  upon  automobile  operators  and  the  applica- 
tion of  the  proceeds  to  the  maintenance  of  state  highways,  in  accordance 
with  the  laws  of  Massachusetts  and  several  other  states,  we  are  seek- 
[6] 


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THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

ing,  and  with  as  little  success  as  in  ancient  days,  to  place  the  burden 
upon  those  responsible  for  the  destruction  of  the  roads. 

The  first  American  turnpike  efforts  in  Virginia,  Maryland,  and  Con- 
necticut followed  the  precedent  established  by  Charles  II  and  sought 
to  provide  for  the  needed  repairs  of  roads  already  built  by  local  com- 
munities, by  collecting  tolls  from  those  using  them. 

Virginia  led  the  way  by  the  enactment  of  chapter  xxx  of  the  Acts 
of  1785.  Because  of  the  great  amount  of  travel  over  the  roads  lead- 
ing from  the  town  of  Alexandria  to  the  northwestern  parts  of  the 
state,  extensive  repairs  had  been  found  necessary  for  which  the  re- 
sources of  the  territory  traversed  were  inadequate.  Hence  nine  com- 
missioners were  appointed  and  instructed 

to  erect,  or  cause  to  be  set  up  and  erected,  one  or  more  gates  or  turnpikes  across  the 
roads,  or  any  of  them,  leading  into  the  town  of  Alexandria  from  Snigger's  and 
Vesta's  Gaps. 

The  receipts  from  tolls  were  to  be  applied  in  clearing  and  repairing 
the  roads  described  and  the  road  between  Georgetown  and  Alexandria. 
A  special  tax  was  levied  on  the  counties  through  which  the  roads  passed 
in  addition  to  the  usual  obligations  to  work  on  the  roads,  which  still 
remained  in  force. 

Snigger's  or  Snicker's  Gap  is  one  of  the  passes  through  the  Blue  Ridge 
Mountains,  by  which  travelers  can  go  from  eastern  Virginia  to  the 
valley  of  the  Shenandoah  River,  over  which  passage  was  formerly  had 
by  means  of  Castleman's  Ferry.  At  its  eastern  end  lies  the  little  village 
of  Bluemont,  about  twenty  miles  southerly  from  the  Potomac. 

As  an  existing  road  was  thus  taken  and  made  subject  to  toll,  the  only 
construction  required  being  the  erection  of  the  gates,  it  is  safe  to  say 
that  the  Virginia  turnpike,  or  turnpikes,  were  in  operation  by  the  begin- 
ning of  the  year  1786.  January  1,  1793,  the  following  appeared  in 
the  Baltimore  newspaper. 

A  MILL  FOR  SALE.  A  valuable  mill,  built  within  the  last  year,  situated  on 
Tide  Water,  within  one  mile  of  Alexandria  by  land,  and  less  than  two  by  water, 
and  within  call  of  the  Turnpike  Road,  down  which  all  the  wheat,  from  an  extensive 
and  fertile  Country,  intended  for  the  Alexandria  Market,  is  conveyed. 

A  heavy  travel  passed  over  this  road  for  several  years  and  the  lenient 
tolls  which  the  legislature  saw  fit  to  impose  were  insufficient  to  properly 
maintain  the  surface.  In  1795  certain  parties  represented  to  the  legis- 
lature that  the  heavy  traffic  had  worn  out  the  old  turnpike  and  that  it 
was  necessary  to  provide  "  an  artificial  bed  of  pounded  or  broken  stone," 
the  expense  of  which  was  too  great  to  be  met  by  the  usual  methods  and 
should  only  be  assumed  by  private  enterprise.  So  the  "  Fairfax  and 
Loudon  turnpike-road  company  "  was  incorporated  on  the  twenty-sixth 
of  December,  1795,  and  given  the  privilege  of  reconstructing  the  old 

[7] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

turnpike  from  "  Little  River,  where  the  present  turnpike  crosses  it,  to 
Alexandria,"  along  a  route  which  should  "  combine  shortness  of  dis- 
tance with  the  most  convenient  and  practicable  ground."  This  most 
satisfactory  specification  for  a  location  first  appeared  in  the  incorpora- 
tion of  the  Lancaster  company  in  Pennsylvania  and  was  later  copied  in 
the  acts  of  New  Hampshire  and  Kentucky.  But  the  Fairfax  and 
Loudon  company  found  the  task  too  great  and  nothing  was  accom- 
plished under  that  charter.  January  28,  1802,  a  charter  was  granted  to 
the  "  President,  Directors,  and  Company  of  the  Little  River  Turnpike 
Company  "  to  build  from  "  the  intersection  of  Duke  Street,  in  Alexan- 
dria, with  the  District  of  Columbia  line,  to  the  ford  of  Little  River  where 
the  turnpike  road  now  crosses  it."  Under  this  charter,  with  the  help  of 
the  state  of  Virginia,  which  appropriated  the  "  muster  fines  "  in  1805  to 
the  purchase  of  one  hundred  shares  of  stock,  the  old  road  was  rebuilt 
and  operated  as  a  toll  road  for  over  ninety  years. 

Little  River  crossed  the  old  turnpike  in  the  very  center  of  the  village 
of  Aldie,  and  there  the  new  company  ended  its  labors.  From  Aldie 
to  Fairfax  the  new  road  was  laid  out  in  almost  a  single  straight  stretch 
and  there  are  but  few  and  slight  angles  between  Fairfax  and  Alexandria. 
To-day  it  is  known  as  the  "  Little  River  Turnpike."  Commencing  in 
Alexandria  it  follows  the  present  Duke  Street  and  its  extension,  until, 
approaching  Fairfax,  it  has  degenerated  into  a  road  poorly  maintained 
and  only  for  the  use  of  residents  along  its  borders.  Through  Fairfax 
it  is  the  main  street  and  passes  between  the  old  brick  tavern  and  the 
courthouse,  in  which  is  kept  the  will  of  George  Washington.  Westerly 
from  the  courthouse,  the  Washington  trolley  cars  follow  its  edge  for 
three  quarters  of  a  mile,  after  which  the  old  turnpike  again  becomes 
the  neglected  country  road.  At  the  foot  of  the  hill  it  splashes  in  a 
ford  across  the  brook  where  ducks  swim  peacefully  within  the  limits  of 
the  road.  At  different  places  where  the  road  passes  over  steep  hills, 
narrow  cuts  sufficient  for  only  one  vehicle  have  been  dug  in  the  side, 
often  fifteen  feet  deep. 

Collection  of  tolls  ceased  on  this  first  American  turnpike  May  II, 
1896,  on  which  date  the  board  of  supervisors  of  Fairfax  County  ac- 
cepted the  deed  of  the  road. 

In  April,  1787,  the  general  assembly  of  Maryland,  by  chapter  xxiii, 
appointed  various  commissioners  to  lay  out  and  make  roads  from 
Baltimore  to  Reisters-town,  from  Reisters-town  to  Winchester-town, 
from  Reisters-town  toward  Hanover-town  as  far  as  the  line  of  Balti- 
more County,  and  from  Baltimore  to  York-town.  This  procedure 
was  entitled  "  An  Act  for  Laying-out  Several  Turnpike-roads  in  Balti- 
more County  "  and  was  a  most  voluminous  document,  providing  in  all 
details  for  procedure  and  protection  of  the  road  when  finished.  Within 
certain  limits  the  commissioners  were  to  be  allowed  to  fix  the  rates  of 
toll  to  be  collected  at  the  gates  authorized  in  the  act,  but  a  peculiar 
provision  appeared  that  no  one  should  be  liable,  more  than  once  in 
[8] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 


twenty-four  hours,  to  toll  at  the  Baltimore  gate,  nor  oftener  than  once 
in  twelve  hours  at  the  others.  Very  little  seems  to  have  been  done  under 
this  act,  and  in  November,  1790,  a  new  board  of  commissioners  was 
appointed  by  legislative  act.  The  new  men  went  to  work  with  more 
vigor  and,  under  date  of  March  18,  1791,  published  their  first  ac- 
count, as  required  under  the  act  of  1787,  in  the  Maryland  Journal. 
They  showed  the  collection  of  £4467  7s.  1  id.,  none  of  which  came  from 
tollgates,  and  the  expenditure  of  over  £4570.  In  March,  1793,  their 
account  showed  the  expenditure  of  £4682  12s.  6d.,  more  than  £1286  in 
excess  of  the  collections  from  the  counties.  Still  no  report  appeared 
of  collections  at  tollgates.  But  September  25,  1793,  the  following 
advertisement  was  prepared  for  publication  and  duly  appeared  in  the 
Maryland  Journal: 

Notice 

The  Commissioners  of  Review  of  the  Turnpike-Roads  of  Baltimore  County  give 
this  public  notice,  that,  in  virtue  of  the  powers  vested  in  them  by  an  Act  of  the  Gen- 
eral Assembly  of  Maryland,  passed  at  Spring  Session,  1787,  entitled  "An  Act  to 
layout  several  Turnpike  Roads  in  Baltimore  County,"  they  have  ordered  to  be 
erected  and  set  up,  at  the  intersection  (nearly  opposite  Mr.  Lawson's  seat)  of  the 
road  leading  from  Ridgely's-Cove  and  the  Turnpike  Road  from  Baltimore  and 
Reisters-town,  the  second  Monday  in  October  next,  one  turnpike-gate,  for  the  pur- 
poses in  said  Act  mentioned,  under  the  rules  and  regulations  following: 

For  every  Coach,  Chariot,  or  Phaeton 2      Pence 

Every  Wagon,  Stage  Wagon  or  Stage  Coach 5^/2      " 

Every  two-wheeled  Carriage 3 

Every  horse  or  horse  and  rider 1 

Every  score  of  hogs  or  sheep  (and  at  the  same  rate  for  a  greater 

or  less  number) H-/4 

Every  score  of  cattle  (and  at  the  same  rate  for  a  greater  or  less 

number) 22^      " 

Every  Wagon  with  wheels  of  the  breadth  of  nine  inches  .    .    .    .  O     OO 

Baltimore,  September  25,  1793. 

After  this  the  published  accounts  showed  collections  at  the  gate  or  gates, 
the  one  appearing  in  1801  naming  the  "Middle  Gate,"  the  "York. 
Gate,"  and  the  "  Frederick  Gate." 

The  foregoing  plainly  shows  that  the  first  tollgate  in  Maryland  was 
put  in  operation  in  October,  1793,  by  which  time  Connecticut  had  had 
two  gates  in  operation  for  a  year  and  more. 

In  1795,  1796,  1797,  and  1798  efforts  were  made  to  stimulate  the 
work  of  the  commissioners  but  with  indifferent  success,  and  in  1804 
the  state  abandoned  all  efforts  to  follow  the  lead  of'  Charles  II  and 
gave  over  the  building  of  turnpikes  to  private  capital.  A  previous 
unsuccessful  effort  to  do  this  had  been  made  in  1797,  when  corporations 
were  formed  to  build  the  Reisters-town  and  Frederick  roads. 

Three  corporations  for  turnpike  building  were  formed  by  an  act 
passed  in  November,  1804,  the  preamble  of  which  said: 

[9] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

Whereas  it  is  represented  to  this  General  Assembly  that  by  the  several  laws  here- 
tofore passed,  on  this  subject,  the  desirable  object  contemplated  by  the  legislature  has 
not  been  obtained,  and  the  public  expectation  almost  entirely  frustrated:  There- 
fore, etc. 

The  routes  allowed  were:  (i)  from  Baltimore  to  Boonsboro,  through 
Frederick-town;  (2)  Baltimore  through  Reisters-town  to  the  Pennsyl- 
vania line  in  the  direction  of  Hanover,  or  through  Westminster  to  the 
Pennsylvania  line  in  the  direction  of  Petersburg;  and  (3)  from  Balti- 
more to  the  Pennsylvania  line  in  the  direction  of  York-town.  By  these 
corporations  the  road-building  program  was  carried  to  completion 
although  several  years  were  required  to  do  it.  The  Reisters-town  Turn- 
pike was  completed  January  8,  18 10,  at  a  cost  of  "  the  enormous  sum 
of  $638,000,"  or  nearly  $11,000  a  mile.  According  to  an  executive 
communication  from  Governor  Goldsborough  to  the  legislature  in 
December,  1818,  its  business  had  been  as  follows: 

Year     .    .    .  1813  1814  1815      i8i6(i4mos.)      1817 

Receipts  .  .  $46,533.91  $27,326.06  $38,486.96  $68,464.81  $60,515.65 
Expenses  .  .  12,580.96  I5.097-52  9,509.67  23,898.36  20,890.29 
Dividends      .  3%  2%  6%  6%  6% 

On  the  construction  of  the  Baltimore  and  York  Turnpike,  Baltimore 
County  imposed  its  convict  labor,  for  which  it  assessed  the  corporation 
$25,000  payable  in  stock.  The  management  advised  the  governor  of 
its  belief  that  it  derived  less  than  one  fifth  of  that  value. 

The  turnpike  from  Baltimore  to  Frederick-town  is  to  be  noted  as  it 
later  formed  the  easterly  end  of  the  Great  National  Turnpike  from 
Baltimore  to  Ohio,  of  which  more  will  appear  in  subsequent  pages. 

An  extensive  turnpike  development  followed  all  over  Maryland  and 
many  gates  are  collecting  in  this  year,  19 19.  Within  the  city  limits  of 
Baltimore,  gates  existed  as  late  as  19 12,  about  which  time  the  last  one 
in  the  city  was  abolished. 

The  second  and  third  turnpikes  in  America  were  in  Connecticut, 
where  the  Mohegan  Road,  between  New  London  and  Norwich,  was 
made  subject  to  toll  in  the  early  part  of  1792,  and  the  Old  Post  Road, 
in  Greenwich,  which  was  similarly  treated  in  the  fall  of  the  same  year. 
But  the  Virginia  and  Connecticut  proceedings  just  noted  were  govern- 
ment affairs,  as  commissioners  were  appointed  to  manage  them  in  behalf 
of  the  counties  in  which  each  lay,  and  the  gross  receipts  were  to  be 
devoted  to  the  maintenance  and  repair  of  the  roads.  Similar  pro- 
cedure has  been  noted  in  Tennessee,  where,  in  1801,  a  gate  was  estab- 
lished on  the  old  road  through  Cumberland  Gap.  In  1804  North 
Carolina  provided  for  a  fourteen-mile  road  through  the  Cherokee 
lands,  payment  for  building  the  same  to  be  made  by  a  fifteen-year  privi- 
lege of  collecting  tolls.  Aside  from  the  instances  mentioned,  the  Ameri- 
can practice  was  to  allow  the  building  of  turnpikes  to  be  done  by  private 
capital,  which  took  its  own  risks  and  derived  its  own  profits,  leaving 
[10] 


Govans,  Maryland,  site  of  Tollgate 

Just  out  of  Baltimore 

Old  York  Road  in  Baltimore 

Plate  VI  —  Baltimore  and  York  Turnpike 


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THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

no  obligations  nor  contingencies  on  the  local  governments.      For  the 
first  instance  of  such  provision  we  have  to  turn  to  Pennsylvania. 

THE   LANCASTER   TURNPIKE 

This  road  is  generally  and  properly  mentioned  as  the  first  extensive 
turnpike  that  was  completed  in  the  United  States.  It  was  built  by  the 
Philadelphia  and  Lancaster  Turnpike  Company,  which  was  incorporated 
by  the  governor  of  Pennsylvania  April  9,  1792. 

A  road  had  existed  previous  to  the  year  17 14  by  which  the  early 
settlements  in  the  Conestoga  and  Susquehanna  valleys  were  reached 
from  Philadelphia.  This  was  known  as  the  "  Great  Canastoga  Road  " 
and  ran  considerably  south  of  the  present  location  of  the  city  of  Lan- 
caster, which  had  not,  at  that  early  date,  been  settled.  In  the  old  days 
a  distinction  seems  to  have  been  drawn  between  certain  classes  of  roads, 
the  higher  grade  being  known  as  "  King's  Highways."  These  were  roads 
which  were  laid  out  by  the  governor  and  provincial  council  instead  of 
by  the  county  authorities,  to  whom  was  left  the  layout  of  the  more 
common  roads.  On  January  29,  1730-31,  a  petition  was  made  for 
a  king's  highway  from  Philadelphia  to  the  new  town  of  Lancaster. 
After  many  delays  and  much  legal  proceedings  this  road  was  completed 
about  1 74 1.  In  1767  an  attempt  was  made  to  straighten  this  road  on 
the  true  turnpike  principles  of  later  days.  A  survey  of  the  old  road 
was  made  and  then  an  absolutely  straight  line  was  run  from  one  end 
to  the  other,  and  studies  were  made  as  to  the  feasibility  of  constructing 
a  new  road  on  that  direct  alignment.  The  committee  to  whom  this 
question  was  submitted  concluded  that  it  was  not  practicable  to  build 
on  an  absolutely  straight  line,  on  account  of  the  steep  grades  which 
would  be  met  on  the  various  hills,  but  they  recommended  the  location 
of  a  new  road  with  but  little  variation  from  it.  Nothing  appears  to 
have  been  done  in  consequence  of  this  report  and  the  old  king's  high- 
way remained  a  very  poor  road,  for  we  have  records  that  in  1773  it 
was  dangerous  on  account  of  the  stumps  still  in  it.  Agitation  was  re- 
newed soon  after  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary  War  and  a  resolution 
was  introduced  in  the  assembly  of  Pennsylvania  about  1786  looking 
to  the  opening  of  the  new  and  improved  road.  The  first  result  of 
the  agitation  was  authority  granted  September  22,  1787,  to  Albert 
Witmer  to  build  a  toll  bridge  over  Canastoga  Creek  on  the  old  king's 
highway.  This  bridge,  promptly  erected,  was  of  wood.  It  later  be- 
came part  of  the  turnpike  and  soon  proved  inadequate.  A  stone  bridge 
540  feet  long  and  19  feet  wide  was  erected  in  1800.  This  bridge,  con- 
sisting of  nine  semicircular  arches  with  the  roadway  rising  to  the  middle 
of  the  stream,  is  still  standing.  The  early  travel  was  very  heavy,  the 
tolls  frequently  reaching  twenty-five  to  thirty  dollars  a  day,  while  the 
collections  from  July,  1818,  to  August,  1827,  when  the  bridge  became 
free,  amounted  to  $22,060.98^. 

["J 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

Financing  the  construction  of  the  road  was  the  puzzle,  but  it  was 
finally  solved  by  leaving  the  matter  for  private  investment  by  a  business 
corporation.  As  will  be  found  in  a  subsequent  page,  business  corpora- 
tions were  unknown  at  that  time  and  in  the  newly  formed  national 
and  state  governments  no  power  existed  possessing  the  prerogatives  of 
the  Crown  for  issuing  charters  for  such  purposes.  It  is  interesting  to 
note  in  the  case  of  the  Philadelphia  and  Lancaster  Turnpike  Company 
that  an  act  of  the  assembly  gave  the  governor  power  to  incorporate 
the  company.  As  already  stated,  the  charter  was  issued  April  9,  1792. 
The  corporation  was  formally  organized  on  July  24  of  the  same  year 
and  subscriptions  for  the  stock  were  called  for  from  the  public.  The 
stock  was  largely  oversubscribed.  One  witness  writing  at  the  close  of 
the  day  said  that  he  had  "  never  seen  men  so  wet  with  sweat  in  the 
harvest  field  as  some  were  in  the  crowd  to-day  who  subscribed  to  the 
turnpike  road."  Great  enthusiasm  was  recorded  by  other  people,  one 
of  whom  wrote  that  his  office  had  been  deserted  all  day,  as  all  his  clerks 
and  apprentices  had  absented  themselves  to  subscribe  for  stock  and 
watch  the  later  developments. 

The  road  was  practically  finished  in  1794  and  open  for  travel,  al- 
though work  continued  through  1796,  in  which  year  it  was  necessary 
to  raise  additional  capital. 

An  advertisement  appeared  in  the  Lancaster  Journal  February  5, 
1796,  giving  notice  for  subscriptions  for  one  hundred  additional  shares 
of  stock  at  $300  each.  Payment  of  $100  down  was  to  be  made,  and 
$66^  at  thirty,  sixty,  and  ninety  days  with  interest.  No  one  was  to 
be  allowed  to  subscribe  for  more  than  one  share  on  the  same  day.1 

The  road  occupied,  when  completed,  sections  of  the  old  highway 
rich  in  colonial  history,  the  rest  of  which  still  runs  parallel  to  the  turn- 
pike for  quite  a  distance  but  loses  its  identity  at  the  terminal  points. 

Nine  tollgates  were  erected  from  three  to  ten  miles  apart  at  which 
tolls  were  assessed  by  the  mile.  The  last  gate  was  on  Witmer's  Bridge, 
in  Lancaster,  at  which  the  toll  allowed  for  sixty-one  miles  of  road 
was  collected  from  all  but  through  travelers.  The  list  of  tolls  was  very 
complete,  containing  forty-six  items,  empty  wagons  passing  at  one  half 
the  rate  of  loaded  ones  of  the  same  size.  Disputes  were  evidently 
anticipated,  as  the  toll  list  went  into  detail  regarding  mixed  teams  and 
provided  that  two  oxen  should  be  considered  as  equivalent  to  one  horse 
and  that  a  mule  and  a  horse  should  pay  equal  toll.  A  percentage  was 
added  to  all  tolls  during  the  winter  months.  The  rates  of  toll  are 
especially  interesting  for  the  scientific  graduation  established  for  the 
various  widths  of  wagon  tires,  and  consideration  given  to  cases  in  which 
the  wheels  did  not  track.  This  is  shown  in  the  table  on  the  following 
page. 

1  "The  Old  Turnpike,"  paper  read  before  the  Lancaster  County  Historical  Society  by  A.  E. 
Witmer,  November  5,  1897. 

[12] 


Old  Tollhouse 

Big  Conococheague  Bridge 

Plate  VIII  —  Hagerstown  and  Conococheague  Turnpike 


Lock  and  Feeder  above  Chain  Bridge 
Lock  near  Georgetown,  D.  C. 
Lock  near  Sharpesburg,  Maryland 

Plate  IX  —  Chesapeake  and  Ohio  Canal 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

Philadelphia  and  Lancaster  Turnpike 

Rates  of  Toll  in  Cents  per  Mile  for  Different  Widths  of  Tires 

Every  Cart  or  Wagon  other  than 

Market  Cart  or  wagon  with  wheels:  Number  of  Horses 

I  2  3         4  5  6 

i.    Not  exceeding  four  inches 2%     4V2     &%     9     H%     J3V2 

2.  Exceeding  four  inches  and  not  exceeding 

seven,  or  which  being  four  shall  roll 

seven  inches 1         2         3         4       5  6 

3.  Exceeding  seven  inches  and  not  exceed- 

ing ten  or  which  being  seven  shall 

roll  ten  inches lV2     2%     3       3%       4I/2 

4.  Exceeding  ten  inches  and  not  exceeding 

twelve,  or  which  being  ten  shall  roll 

twelve  inches 1  1%     2       2Vu       3 

5.  Exceeding  twelve  inches  or  which  being 

twelve  shall  roll  fifteen  inches  ...  0.6      0.9      1.2     1.5       1.8 

In  a  letter  written  by  the  president  of  the  corporation  in  1797  it  was 
stated  that  the  road  had  then  cost  $444,753.72,  to  which  should  be 
added  certain  unliquidated  contracts  estimated  at  $8000  and  the  cost 
of  the  bridge  over  Brandywine  Creek.  The  final  cost  of  the  road  ap- 
pears to  have  been  as  follows: 

Original  issue  of  stock  1000  shares  @  $300.00 $300,000.00 

Second        "     "      "        200      "       "      300.00 60,000.00 

Third         "     "      "         100      "       "      300.00 30,000.00 

Tolls  collected  and  applied  to  construction ,  .    .    .    .  75,000.00 

$465,000.00 

or  about  $7450  a  mile,  the  length  of  the  turnpike  being  62  miles,  135.95 
perches. 

The  road  originally  was  more  direct  than  it  is  at  the  present  day. 
The  Pennsylvania  Railroad  closely  parallels  it  and  near  Philadelphia 
occupies  its  site  in  one  or  two  places.  It  was  macadamized  for  its  whole 
length  with  stones  broken  to  pass  through  a  two-inch  ring. 

It  seems  that  paving  was  given  a  practical  test  on  this  road,  for  at 
a  point  six  miles  east  of  Lancaster  the  turnpike  was  paved  for  its  entire 
width  for  a  length  of  one  hundred  feet,  but  such  construction  proved 
too  expensive  and  was  not  continued.1 

On  October  1,  1867,  the  first  three  miles  of  the  Lancaster  Turnpike, 
being  the  present  Market  Street,  west  of  the  Schuylkill  River,  in  Phila- 
delphia, was  given  to  that  city.  An  act  of  1871  is  interesting,  as  it 
provides  the  usual  list  of  exemptions  found  in  the  early  New  England 
turnpike  acts.  It  seems  incredible,  but  apparently  no  free  list  had  ex- 
isted up  to  that  date.  In  1872,  under  authority  of  an  act  passed  in 
1866,  the  corporation  divided  its  road  into  three  sections  for  the  pur- 
pose of  selling  the  same,   and  in   March,    1873,   the   section  between 

1  "The  Old  Turnpike,"  Witmer. 

[13] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

Lancaster  and  Newport  was  sold  for  $10,000  to  parties  who  later 
formed  the  Lancaster  and  Williamsburg  Turnpike  Company  to  con- 
tinue turnpike  operations.  This  company  seems  to  have  operated  but 
a  short  time.  In  1876  all  of  the  turnpike  within  the  limits  of  Coates- 
ville  was  sold  to  that  borough  for  one  dollar.  In  March,  1880,  all  east 
of  Paoli  was  bought  by  the  Lancaster  Improvement  Company  for  $8000 
and  in  November  of  the  same  year  a  considerable  portion  east  from  the 
twenty-sixth  milestone  was  abandoned.  The  last  section  of  the  old  road 
remaining  subject  to  toll  and  under  control  of  the  corporation  was  that 
between  Coatesville  and  Exton,  and  that  was  sold  to  the  Philadelphia 
and  Chester  Valley  Street  Railway  Company  by  whom  it  was  made  free 
about  1 90 1.  Having  no  more  road  to  operate  and  no  further  reason 
for  its  existence  the  corporation,  upon  its  own  petition  dated  February 
25,  1902,  was  dissolved.1 

In  1905  York  Road,  in  Philadelphia,  was  still  a  turnpike  with  three 
tollgates  within  the  city  limits,  but  at  the  close  of  that  year  the  gates 
were  abolished  and  the  road  became  free.  In  the  latter  part  of  1909 
seven  hundred  and  eighteen  miles  of  turnpike  were  in  operation  in 
twenty-one  of  Pennsylvania's  sixty-seven  counties,  the  same  being  owned 
by  one  hundred  and  seven  different  corporations. 

In  response  to  a  resolution  of  the  United  States  senate,  adopted 
March  2,  1807,  Albert  Gallatin,  secretary  of  the  treasury,  caused  to 
be  made  a  thorough  investigation  of  the  works  of  internal  improvement, 
contemplated  and  completed,  throughout  the  country.  His  report,2 
transmitted  on  the  fourth  of  April,  1808,  contained  much  interesting 
data  on  the  turnpikes  which  were  then  serving  the  public  needs.  The 
section  is  here  reproduced. 

Turnpike,  or  Artificial  Roads 

A  great  number  of  artificial  roads  have  been  completed  in  the  eastern  and  middle 
States,  at  an  expense  varying  from  less  than  $1,000  to  $14,000  a  mile.  The  labor 
bestowed  on  the  least  expensive  species  consists  in  shortening  the  distance,  diminish- 
ing the  ascent  of  hills,  removing  rocks,  levelling,  raising,  and  giving  a  proper  shape 
to  the  bed  of  the  roads,  draining  them  by  ditches,  and  erecting  bridges  over  the  inter- 
vening streams.  But  the  natural  soi}  of  the  road  is  used,  instead  of  covering  it  with 
a  stratum  of  gravel  or  pounded  stones. 

It  appears,  by  one  of  the  papers  marked  D.,  under  which  letter  will  be  found  all 
the  information  which  has  been  obtained  respecting  roads,  that  fifty  turnpike  com- 
panies have  been  incorporated  since  the  year  1803,  in  the  State  of  Connecticut  alone; 
and  that  the  roads  undertaken  by  those  companies  are  all  of  that  description. 
Thirty-nine  of  those  roads,  extending  together  770  miles,  are  completed.  The  most 
expensive  is  that  from  New  Haven  to  Hartford,  which  has  cost  $79,261 ;  or,  the  dis- 
tance being  34%  miles,  at  the  rate  of  $2,280  a  mile ;  but  about  $18,000  of  the  capital 
have  been  expended  in  the  purchase  of  the  land  through  which  the  road  is  carried. 
The  nett  income  on  this  road,  deducting  the  annual  repairs  and  expenses,  from  the 
annual  tolls,  does  not  exceed  $3,000.  Of  six  of  the  roads  which,  together,  extend 
120  miles,  no  account  has  been  received.    The  other  thirty-two  extend,  together,  615 

1  "The  First  Long  Turnpike  in  the  United  States,"  Landis. 

2  State  Paper  No.  250,  10th  Congress,  1st  Session,  reprinted  as  Document  No.  499,  6lst  Con- 
gress, 2d  Session. 

[14] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


miles,  and  have  cost  only  $340,000;  or,  on  an  average,  at  the  rate  of  $550  a  mile; 
and  it  seems  that  the  aggregate  of  annual  tolls  on  the  whole  is  $86,000;  from  which, 
deducting  the  annual  repairs  and  expenses,  amounting  to  $48,000,  leaves  a  nett  in- 
come of  $38,000,  or  of  about  1 1  per  cent,  on  the  capital  expended. 

No  particular  account  has  been  received  of  the  roads  in  the  other  eastern  States, 
but  it  is  known  that  besides  some  of  a  similar  description  with  those  of  the  State  of 
Connecticut,  several  of  a  more  expensive  kind  have  been  completed,  particularly  in 
Massachusetts.  The  cost  has  varied  from  $3,000  to  $14,000  a  mile,  and  amongst 
artificial  roads  of  the  first  grade  may  be  mentioned  those  from  Boston  to  Providence, 
to  Salem  and  to  Newburyport.  These  are  all  covered  with  an  artificial  stratum  of 
gravel  or  pounded  stones,  and  finished  in  the  most  substantial  manner.  Great  ex- 
pense has  also  been  incurred,  in  order  to  shorten  the  distance  without  exceeding  the 
angle  of  ascent,  which  is  fixed  at  five  degrees ;  and  it  is  stated  that  the  road  to  New- 
buryport, thirty-two  miles  in  length,  and  in  which  marshes  and  rocks  presented  con- 
siderable obstacles,  has  cost  $400,000,  or  at  the  rate  of  $12,500  a  mile.  Those 
expensive  roads,  however  useful  and  permanent,  appear  to  be  much  less  profitable 
than  those  of  Connecticut.  The  Salem  road  is  said  to  yield  six  per  cent. ;  another 
road  has  been  stated  as  yielding  eight  per  cent.  The  income  of  all  the  others  in  the 
State  of  Massachusetts  is  said  not  to  exceed  on  an  average  three  per  cent. ;  and  that 
of  the  road  from  Boston  to  Newburyport  amounts  to  no  more  than  two  per  cent. 

A  greater  capital  has  been  vested  in  turnpike  roads  in  the  State  of  New  York 
than  in  any  other.  In  less  than  seven  years  sixty-seven  companies  have  been  incor- 
porated, with  a  nominal  capital  of  near  $5,000,000,  for  the  purpose  of  making  more 
than  three  thousand  miles  of  artificial  roads ;  and  twenty-one  other  companies  have 
also  been  incorporated  with  a  capital  of  $400,000,  for  the  purpose  of  erecting  twenty- 
one  toll  bridges.  Although  no  particular  account  has  been  received  either  of  the 
capital  actually  expended  or  of  the  annual  amount  of  tolls,  or  of  the  materi- 
als of  the  roads,  it  is  known  that  great  progress  has  been  made ;  and  it  has  been 
stated  that  nine  hundred  miles  of  road  were  already  completed  by  twenty-eight  com- 
panies, whose  capital  amounted  to  $1,800,000,  and  who  had  two  hundred  miles  more 
of  road  to  finish. 

Those  roads  extend  in  every  direction,  but  particularly  from  every  town  or  vil- 
lage on  the  North  river,  westwardly  and  northwestwardly  towards  the  waters  of  the 
Susquehannah  and  those  of  the  great  lakes.  The  most  expensive  is  that  from  Albany 
to  Schenectady,  fourteen  miles  long,  and  which  has  cost  at  the  rate  of  $10,000  a  mile. 
Near  one  hundred  and  forty  miles  of  roads  extending  westwardly  from  Albany  and 
Schenectady,  appear  to  have  cost  at  the  rate  of  $2,500  or  $3,000  a  mile.  Trie  ex- 
pense of  all  the  others  does  not  seem,  on  an  average,  to  exceed  $1,250  a  mile. 

More  detailed  information  has  been  obtained  respecting  the  roads  in  New  Jersey, 
Pennsylvania,  and  Maryland. 

In  New  Jersey  a  turnpike  road  has  lately  been  completed  from  Trenton  to 
Brunswick.  The  distance  is  twenty-five  miles ;  the  greatest  angle  of  ascent,  three 
degrees;  and  the  road  is  nearly  in  a  straight  line,  the  only  considerable  obstruction 
being  the  "  sand  hills,"  through  which  it  was  necessary  to  dig  at  the  depth  of  thirty 
feet,  in  order  not  to  exceed  the  angle  of  ascent.  The  road  is  thirty-six  feet  wide, 
fifteen  feet  of  which  are  covered  with  about  six  inches  of  gravel.  A  few  wooden 
bridges,  with  stone  abutments,  and  piers  have  been  erected  across  the  intervening 
streams.  The  whole  expense  is  stated  at  $2,500  a  mile.  From  Brunswick  the  road 
will  be  extended  to  Elizabethtown,  and  the  work  is  now  progressing.  Another  road 
has  been  undertaken  in  the  same  State  from  Brunswick  to  Easton  on  the  river  Dela- 
ware. The  distance  is  forty-three  miles,  of  which  eleven  have  been  completed  at  an 
expense  of  $40,000.  This  road  will  be  more  expensive  than  the  preceding,  both  on 
account  of  the  ground,  the  bridges  being  more  numerous,  and  the  Blue  Ridge  (Mus- 
conekong  mountain)  intervening,  and  because  a  more  substantial  facing  or  greater 
thickness  of  gravel  is  requisite.    The  funds  of  the  company  are  exhausted. 

[15] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

In  Pennsylvania  artificial  roads  of  the  most  substantial  kind  have  been  completed 
or  are  progressing  from  Philadelphia  in  sundry  directions. 

The  principal  are  to  Bristol  and  Trenton,  twelve  miles  of  which  are  completed ; 
to  Germantown  and  Perkioman,  with  two  branches  to  Willow  Grove  and  to  Chest- 
nut Hill ;  and  to  Lancaster  and  Columbia,  with  a  branch  to  Harrisburg. 

The  distance  from  Philadelphia  to  Perkioman  is  twenty-five  miles  and  a  quarter ; 
the  two  branches  extend  one  ten  miles,  and  the  other  seven  miles  and  a  half ;  making 
together  near  forty-three  miles.  The  angle  of  ascent  is  four  degrees;  the  breadth  of 
the  road  fifty  feet,  of  which  twenty-eight  feet,  having  a  convexity  of  fifteen  inches, 
are  covered  with  a  stratum  either  of  gravel  eighteen  inches  thick,  or  of  pounded 
stones  twelve  inches  thick.  One-half  of  the  stones  forming  the  lower  part  of  the 
stratum  are  broken  into  pieces  not  more  than  five  inches  in  diameter ;  the  other  half, 
or  upper  part  of  the  stratum  consists  of  stones  broken  into  pieces  not  more  than  two 
inches  and  a  half  in  diameter,  and  this  difference  in  the  size  of  the  stones  is  repre- 
sented as  a  considerable  defect.  Side  or  summer  roads  extend  on  each  side  of  the 
gravel  or  stone  road.  The  five  miles  next  to  Philadelphia  have  cost  at  the  rate  of 
$14,517  a  mile ;  the  other  twenty  miles  and  a  half  at  the  rate  of  $10,490  a  mile.  Yet 
there  were  no  natural  impediments,  and  only  small  bridges  or  culverts  were  neces- 
sary. The  capital  expended  on  these  twenty-five  miles  and  a  half  is  $285,000;  the 
tolls  amount  to  $19,000;  the  annual  repairs  and  expenses  to  $10,000;  the  nett  income 
to  about  $9,000,  or  little  more  than  three  per  cent,  on  the  capital  expended. 

The  distance  from  the  Schuylkill  at  Philadelphia  to  Lancaster  is  sixty-two  miles 
and  a  quarter;  exclusively  of  the  side  or  summer  roads.  Twenty-four  feet  of  the  bed 
of  the  road  are  covered  with  a  stratum  of  pounded  stones,  eighteen  inches  thick  in 
the  middle  of  the  road,  and  decreasing  each  way  to  twelve  inches.  The  valley  hills 
are  the  most  elevated  and  steep  on  the  road ;  but  the  angle  of  ascent  nowhere  exceeds 
four  degrees.  Stone  bridges  have  been  erected  across  all  the  intervening  streams. 
That  across  the  river  Conestogo,  consisting  of  nine  arches,  is  private  property ;  and 
the  most  expensive  built  by  the  company  is  that  across  the  Brandywine,  consisting  of 
three  arches  of  solid  masonry,  and  which  cost  $12,000.  The  capital  of  the  company 
amounted  to  $360,000 ;  but  this  being  insufficient,  it  became  necessary  to  apply  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  the  tolls  to  the  completion  of  the  work.  The  whole  expense 
amounts  to  $465,000,  or  at  the  rate  of  about  $7,500  a  mile.  The  annual  tolls  have 
not  yet  exceeded  $25,000,  and  the  annual  repairs  and  expenses  are  estimated  at 
$13,000,  leaving  a  net  income  of  about  $12,000.  The  prospect  of  an  increased 
profit,  derived  from  the  proposed  extension  of  the  road  has,  however,  raised  the  price 
of  that  stock  nearly  to  par. 

The  Lancaster  road,  the  first  extensive  turnpike  that  was  completed  in  the  United 
States,  is  the  first  link  of  the  great  Western  communication  from  Philadelphia. 
It  has  been  extended  ten  miles  westwardly  to  Columbia  on  the  Susquehannah,  and 
another  branch  is  now  progressing  northwestwardly  to  Harrisburg,  also  on  the  Sus- 
quehannah, and  thirty-six  miles  from  Lancaster.  The  State  of  Pennsylvania  has  also 
incorporated  two  companies  in  order  to  extend  the  road  by  two  different  routes  as 
far  as  Pittsburg  on  the  Ohio,  and  near  three  hundred  miles  from  Philadelphia.  The 
southern  route  following  the  main  post  road  passes  by  Bedford  and  Somerset.  The 
northern  route  passes  by  Huntingdon  and  Frankstown,  the  highest  point  to  which 
the  Juniata  branch  of  the  Susquehannah  is  navigable.  To  this  route  the  State  has 
authorized  a  subscription  of  $100,000. 

Other  roads  in  a  northwest  direction  from  Philadelphia  towards  the  Genesee, 
and  Presque  Isle  on  Lake  Erie,  are  also  progressing,  and  have  been  encouraged  by 
the  subscriptions  or  donations  of  the  Legislature.  They  are  generally  on  a  much  less 
expensive  plan  than  those  in  the  direction  of  Pittsburg.  A  section  of  thirty  miles 
from  Lausanne  on  the  Lehigh  to  Nescopeck  on  the  Susquehannah  has  been  com- 
pleted at  the  expense  of  $36,000  by  a  company ;  and  it  is  intended  to  extend  it  sev- 
enty miles  further  to  Newton  on  the  Tioga  branch  of  the  Susquehannah. 

[16] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

In  Maryland,  roads  extending  from  Baltimore  in  various  directions  have  lately 
been  undertaken  by  several  companies,  and  are  rapidly  progressing.  On  the  Falls 
Turnpike,  which  extends,  in  a  northerly  direction,  about  four  miles  of  a  road  twenty- 
two  feet  wide,  covered  with  a  stratum  of  pounded  stones  ten  inches  thick,  and  having 
an  ascent  not  exceeding  four  degrees,  have  been  completed  at  the  rate  of  $7,500  a 
mile. 

The  "  Reistertown  "  turnpike,  in  a  northwestwardly  direction,  extends  sixteen 
miles  to  that  village,  whence  two  branches,  extending  one  nineteen  and  the  other 
twenty-nine  miles  further,  will  enter  Pennsylvania  at  two  different  places.  The 
road,  twenty-four  feet  wide,  is  covered  with  a  stratum  twelve  inches  thick  of 
pounded  stones  not  more  than  three  inches  in  diameter.  The  angle  of  ascent  does 
not  exceed  three  degrees  and  a  half.  Ten  miles  have  been  completed  at  the  expense 
of  $10,000  a  mile,  and  the  work  is  progressing.  The  capital  of  the  company  amounts 
to  $420,000. 

The  capital  of  the  "  Fredericktown  "  turnpike  company  amounts  to  $500,000, 
and  the  company  is  authorized  to  open  the  great  western  road  as  far  as  Boons- 
borough,  beyond  the  Blue  Ridge,  and  sixty-two  miles  from  Baltimore.  The  angle 
of  ascent  will  not  exceed  four  degrees ;  the  road  has  a  convexity  of  nine  inches ;  and 
on  a  breadth  of  twenty-two  feet  is  covered  with  a  stratum  ten  inches  thick  of 
pounded  stones  not  exceeding  three  inches  in  diameter,  over  which  are  spread  two 
inches  of  gravel  or  coarse  sand.  The  first  twenty  miles  next  to  Baltimore  have  cost 
at  the  rate  of  $9,000,  and  the  next  seventeen  miles  are  contracted  for  at  the  rate  of 
$7,000  a  mile. 

The  distance  from  Boonsborough  to  Cumberland,  at  the  foot  of  the  Allegheny 
mountains,  following  the  present  road,  is  seventy-three  miles;  and,  although  the 
company  is  not  yet  authorized  to  extend  the  turnpike  to  that  place,  the  ground  has 
been  surveyed,  and  it  is  ascertained  that  the  road  may  be  continued  with  an  angle 
of  ascent  not  exceeding  four  degrees.  The  ascent  of  the  road  laid  out  by  the  United 
States  from  Cumberland  to  Brownsville  on  the  Monongahela  does  not  exceed  five 
degrees,  and  the  distance  is  seventy-two  miles;  making  the  whole  distance  of  a  turn- 
pike road  from  Baltimore  to  the  navigable  waters  of  the  Ohio  two  hundred  and 
seven  miles. 

The  distance  from  the  city  of  Washington  to  the  same  spot  on  the  Monongahela 
is  some  miles  shorter,  being,  as  has  already  been  stated,  the  shortest  communication 
between  tide  water  and  the  navigable  Western  waters. 

South  of  the  Potomac,  few  artificial  roads  have  been  undertaken.  From  Alex- 
andria one  is  now  progressing,  in  a  northwestwardly  direction,  towards  Middleburg. 
Another  has  lately  been  commenced  from  Richmond  to  Ross's  coal  mine;  but  the 
only  one  which,  so  far  as  any  accounts  have  been  received,  is  completed,  extends 
twelve  miles  from  Manchester,  opposite  to  Richmond,  in  a  westwardly  direction,  to 
the  coal  mines  of  Falling  creek.  This  road,  thirty-six  feet  wide,  is  gravelled,  and 
has  cost  $50,000;  but  the  last  four  miles  did  not  cost  more  than  at  the  rate  of 
$3,000  a  mile.  Yet  it  is  sufficiently  substantial,  the  route  being  very  level,  to  admit 
wagons  carrying  four  tons. 

The  greater  progress  made  in  the  improvement  of  roads  in  the  northern  parts  of 
the  Union  must  be  principally  ascribed  to  a  more  compact  population,  which  renders 
those  improvements  more  necessary,  and  at  the  same  time  supplies  with  greater 
facility  the  means  of  effecting  them.  The  same  difference  is  perceptible  in  the  num- 
ber of  bridges  erected  in  the  several  States. 

In  the  Eastern  States,  and  particularly  Massachusetts,  wooden  bridges,  uniting 
boldness  to  elegance,  and  having  no  defect  but  want  of  durability,  have  been  erected 
over  the  broadest  and  deepest  rivers.  In  the  lower  counties  of  Pennsylvania,  stone 
bridges  are  generally  found  across  all  the  small  streams.  Both  in  that  State  and  at 
some  distance  eastwardly,  bridges  with  stone  piers  and  abutments,  and  a  wooden 
superstructure,  are  common  over  wide  rivers.     Of  these,  the  most  expensive,  and 

[17] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


which  may  be  considered  as  the  first  in  the  United  States,  is  the  permanent  Schuyl- 
kill bridge  near  Philadelphia,  erected  by  a  company  at  an  expense  of  $300,000.  Its 
length,  including  the  abutments,  does  not  exceed  750  feet,  and  it  is  supported  only 
by  two  piers  and  the  abutments;  but  those  piers,  195  feet  apart,  are  of  the  most  solid 
workmanship,  and  one  of  them  was  sunk  at  a  depth  of  more  than  24  feet  below  low 
water.  The  bridge  is  42  feet  wide,  and  the  wooden  superstructure  is  enclosed  and 
covered  with  a  single  roof. 

The  want  of  bridges  south  of  Pennsylvania,  even  on  the  main  post  road,  is  sen- 
sibly felt.  One  lately  thrown  across  the  Potomac,  three  miles  above  the  city  of 
Washington,  and  which,  without  any  intervening  piers,  is  wholly  suspended  to  iron 
chains,  extending  from  bank  to  bank,  deserves  notice  on  account  of  the  boldness  of 
its  construction,  and  of  its  comparative  cheapness.  The  principle  of  this  new  plan, 
derived  from  the  tenacity  of  iron,  seems  applicable  to  all  rapid  streams  of  a  moderate 
breadth. 

The  movement  continued  long  after  the  date  of  the  above-quoted 
report,  four  hundred  and  one  companies  in  all  being  incorporated  in 
New  York  State  alone,  and  nearly  the  entire  territory  east  of  the 
Mississippi  became  subject  to  some  demands  for  toll  before  the  rail- 
roads took  up  the  burden  of  meeting  the  transportation  requirements. 
On  many  Civil  War  maps,  and  in  the  accounts  of  many  battles,  will  be 
found  references  to  this  or  that  turnpike,  so  the  lone  road,  south  of  the 
Potomac,  soon  had  company. 

EFFORTS  OF   THE    UNITED    STATES   GOVERNMENT 

As  the  early  settlers  penetrated  farther  into  the  western  wilds,  leav- 
ing friends  and  relatives  in  the  older  districts,  the  government  of  the 
new  republic  found  itself  under  obligations  to  maintain  postal  service 
with  the  new  regions,  and  in  that  connection,  faced  the  problem  of 
providing  sufficient  roads  in  the  districts  where  there  was  no  state  or 
county  authority,  nor  inhabitants  enough  to  provide  the  routes.  So 
early  in  the  nineteenth  century  we  find  the  congressional  records  full 
of  references  to  post  routes  and  means  of  supplying  the  same. 

The  road  cut  out  by  the  army  under  General  Braddock  to  the  site 
of  Pittsburgh,  in  1755,  for  sixty  years  remained  the  only  route  through 
southwestern  Pennsylvania,  and  continuations  of  it  through  south- 
eastern Ohio  and  Kentucky  reached  as  far  as  New  Orleans.  Brad- 
dock's  Road  was  indeed  a  spacious  avenue  of  twelve  feet  in  width,  but 
farther  west  the  routes  were  but  Indian  trails,  and  at  the  most,  the  few 
residents  of  the  regions  traversed  could  only  keep  the  same  clear  of 
fallen  trees.  And  as  travel  increased,  the  road  cut  by  the  ill-fated  ex- 
pedition grew  worse  and  worse  each  year,  until  it  could  no  longer  be 
considered  a  road  at  all. 

Before  the  admission  of  Ohio  as  a  state  the  need  of  better  roads 
from  the  coast  to  the  western  region  was  keenly  realized,  and,  in  the 
act  of  Congress  conferring  statehood  on  that  territory,  a  proposition 
was  submitted  to  the  people  for  their  acceptance,  which  provided  for 
the  application  of  a  certain  portion  of  the  money  received  from  the  sale 
[18] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

of  public  lands  in  that  state  to  the  construction  of  roads  connecting  the 
navigable  waters  emptying  into  the  Atlantic  with  the  Ohio  River,  and 
for  further  roads  through  the  new  state. 


THE   CUMBERLAND   OR   OLD    NATIONAL   ROAD 

The  Cumberland  Road  first  appears  in  the  national  senate  in  1806, 
when  Senator  Uriah  Tracy  of  Connecticut  reported  that  the  proceeds 
of  land  sales  in  Ohio  had  amounted  to  over  six  hundred  and  thirty 
thousand  dollars,  and  recommended  an  appropriation  of  fifty  thousand 
dollars  for  the  building  of  a  road  from  Cumberland,  on  the  north  bank, 
of  the  Potomac,  to  the  Ohio  River,  a  little  below  Wheeling.  The 
measure  at  once  secured  the  hearty  support  of  Henry  Clay,  then  just 
admitted  to  the  senate  to  fill  out  an  unexpired  term,  who,  from 
that  time  on,  was  known  as  the  warmest  friend  of  the  Cumberland 
Road.  For  the  full  consideration  of  the  subject  Mr.  Clay  introduced 
a  resolution,  which  was  adopted,  calling  on  the  secretary  of  the  treasury 
for  a  full  report  of  all  works  of  internal  improvement  in  contemplation, 
under  construction,  or  completed  within  the  United  States.  In  compli- 
ance Secretary  Gallatin  submitted  to  the  senate  under  date  of  April  4, 
1808,  the  report  from  which  we  have  already  quoted  at  length.  An 
appropriation  of  thirty  thousand  dollars  for  the  purpose  of  having  a 
survey  and  layout  of  the  route  made  received  President  Jefferson's 
signature  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  March,  1806.  By  the  provisions  of 
the  bill  the  President  was  to  appoint  a  commission  of  three  to  lay  out  the 
road,  which  was  to  be  four  rods  wide;  was  to  have  a  raised  carriage-way 
in  the  middle  of  stone,  earth,  gravel,  or  sand,  with  ditches  along  the 
sides;  while  the  inclinations  of  grade  were  in  no  case  to  exceed  five 
degrees.  Nothing  more  than  the  work  of  these  commissioners  was 
accomplished  at  this  time,  and  for  a  few  years  the  matter  languished. 

A  bitter  controversy  raged  meanwhile  over  the  constitutional  right 
of  the  United  States  to  build  roads  within  the  jurisdiction  of  any  of  its 
subordinate  states,  those  finally  in  the  minority  claiming  that  such  pro- 
cedure was  a  violation  of  states'  rights.  But  for  a  time,  at  least,  it 
became  settled  that  the  general  government  had  a  constitutional  right 
to  build  and  maintain  roads  where  such  were  needed  for  the  carrying 
of  the  mails. 

So,  commencing  in  18 10,  a  series  of  appropriations  totaling 
$5,794,919.33  was  commended,  and  construction  of  the  road  was  soon 
under  way.  A  contract  covering  the  first  ten  miles  was  let  in  the  spring 
of  181 1,  at  an  average  price  of  $7500  a  mile,1  and  the  further  portions 
followed  as  fast  as  the  successive  appropriations  would  allow,  until  the 
road  was  finally  completed  to  Wheeling  in  December,  1820,  and  to  the 
Mississippi  River  in  the  early  thirties.     With  the  eastern  terminus  of 

1  Richmond  Stone,  United  States  Department  of  Agriculture,  Bulletin  No.  17. 

[19] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


this  road  at  Cumberland,  on  the  Potomac  River,  the  traffic  was  left 
to  find  its  own  way  to  the  seacoast,  which  it  naturally  did  down  the 
river.  With  the  growth  of  business  over  the  road  Baltimore  awoke  to 
the  desirability  of  securing  the  trade  for  itself.  Already  the  Baltimore 
and  Frederick  Turnpike  offered  its  services  as  far  west  as  Boones- 
boro,  and  its  owners  were  willing  to  extend  a  little  farther,  but  the 
rough  unopened  country  west  of  the  Big  Conococheague  Creek  pre- 
sented too  many  difficulties. 

The  opportunity  came  in  1812  when  the  charters  of  many  of  the 
Maryland  state  banks  expired  and  renewal  was  sought.  Opposition  to 
the  renewal  was  made  until  a  compromise  was  effected,  by  which  the 
banks  of  Baltimore,  the  Hagerstown  Bank,  the  Conococheague,  and 
the  Cumberland  Bank  of  Allegany  secured  their  charter  extensions  to 
November  1,  1835,  provided  that  they  should  form  a  corporation  under 
the  name  of  the  "  President,  Managers,  and  Company  of  the  Cumber- 
land Turnpike  Road,"  and  should  build  a  turnpike  from  Cumberland 
to  the  west  bank  of  Big  Conococheague.  The  corporation  was  finally 
formed  and  a  contract  was  made  with  John  Davis  to  build  the  road  for 
$460,000,  or  about  $7930  a  mile.  In  18 17  the  road  was  under  con- 
struction and  it  was  believed  that  the  contractor  was  losing  money. 

This  left  a  gap  between  Big  Conococheague  Creek  and  Boonesboro 
and  several  efforts  were  made  to  provide  the  desired  improved  road 
across  the  interval.  The  Baltimore  Liberty  and  Hagerstown  Turnpike- 
Road  Company  which  was  incorporated  in  January,  181 6,  to  build  from 
the  Reisters-town  Turnpike,  at  liberty,  to  Hagerstown,  secured  an  ex- 
tension of  its  charter  during  the  same  month  by  which  it  was  allowed  to 
make  its  road  from  Hagerstown  to  the  eastern  terminus  of  proposed 
road  of  the  Cumberland  Company,  but  all  this  company  was  able  to  do 
in  the  next  three  years  was  to  open  about  six  and  a  half  miles  of  road 
adjacent  to  Liberty,  on  which  it  was  allowed  to  set  up  one  gate. 

Although  the  Baltimore  and  Frederick  Company  secured  authority, 
in  1 8 16,  to  extend  its  road  to  Big  Conococheague,  it  is  clear  that  it  did 
not  do  so,  as  the  heavy  expense  of  the  bridge  over  Monocasy  Creek, 
for  which  bridge  tolls  had  been  refused  by  the  assembly,  had  exhausted 
the  company  funds. 

At  the  December  session  of  18 16  a  corporation  was  created  under 
the  name  of  Hagerstown  and  Conococheague  Turnpike  Company  with 
power  to  build  from  "  The  Market  Space  in  Hagerstown  to  the  west 
bank  of  Conococheague."  This  was  the  corporation  which  Governor 
Goldsborough  reported  in  181 8  had  built  a  bridge  over  Big  Conoco- 
cheague and  a  turnpike  thence  to  Hagerstown,  but  the  governor  evi- 
dently anticipated  the  completion  of  the  bridge,  for  according  to  a  tablet 
inserted  in  the  parapet  wall,  it  was  built  by  Silas  Harry  in  18 19. 

The  Big  Conococheague  bridge  is  crossed  about  halfway  from 
Hagerstown  to  Clear  Spring  and  is  an  imposing  structure  of  five  arches, 
which  must  have  cost  at  least  seventy-five  thousand  dollars  by  compari- 
[20] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   NEW    ENGLAND 


son  with  that  over  the  Monocasy,  which  was  built  at  an  expense  of 
fifty-six  thousand.  At  its  westerly  end  the  road  makes  a  most  abrupt 
turn,  almost  square,  to  the  left,  and  many  serious  accidents  have  oc- 
curred there  since  the  old  road  has  seen  the  high  speed  of  automobiles. 

But  improved  through  roads  from  Hagerstown  to  Baltimore  were 
still  incomplete,  and  it  remained  most  desirable  to  connect  with  the 
Baltimore  and  Frederick  at  Boonesboro.  All  other  efforts  failing,  the 
holdup  of  the  banks  was  again  perpetrated. 

January  30,  1822,  the  Boonesboro  Turnpike  Company  was  incor- 
porated to  be  composed  of  the  banks  of  Hagerstown  and  all  the  Balti- 
more banks  except  the  City  Bank,  in  return  for  which  the  bank  charters 
were  extended  to  January  1,  1845.  Not  content  with  loading  all  this 
on  the  banks,  a  tax  of  two  tenths  of  one  per  cent  was  levied  on  the 
paid-in  capital  of  the  turnpike  corporation  for  school  purposes.  The 
road  of  this  company  was  to  extend  from  Boonesboro  to  Hagerstown, 
and  was  completed  within  two  or  three  years. 

So  the  great  Cumberland  Road  as  finally  built  consisted  first  of  the 
turnpike  of  the  Baltimore  and  Frederick  Corporation,  reaching  from 
Baltimore  to  Boonesboro,  second  of  the  bank-owned  section  from 
Boonesboro  to  Hagerstown,  third  of  the  turnpike  and  bridge  of  the 
Hagerstown  and  Conococheague  Corporation  from  Hagerstown  to  Big 
Conococheague,  fourth  of  the  portion  built  by  the  banks  to  Cumber- 
land, and  last  of  the  great  National  Road  itself.  The  portion  east  of 
Cumberland  remained  subject  to  toll  until  about  191 2. 

The  enormous  traffic  which  passed  over  the  road  from  Cumberland 
to  Wheeling,  almost  from  the  day  of  its  opening,  soon  wore  out  the 
original  surface,  and  heavy  repairs  became  necessary.  Congress,  tiring 
of  the  large  appropriations  required  for  that  purpose,  sought  to  make 
the  road  self-sustaining  and,  in  1822,  passed  a  bill  by  which  tolls  were 
established.  This  was  promptly  vetoed  by  President  Monroe  as  being 
unconstitutional.  The  central  government  might  build  and  maintain 
roads,  but  the  imposition  of  tolls,  involving  the  power  to  enforce  collec- 
tion of  the  same,  with  various  necessary  protecting  laws,  he  conceived 
as  clearly  illegal,  although  the  several  states  concerned  had  previously 
passed  acts  ceding  such  rights  to  Congress. 

By  1834  the  road  was  in  dire  need  of  repair,  and  the  act  of  Congress 
of  that  year,  which  appropriated  $300,000  to  put  it  in  order,  also  pro- 
vided that,  when  in  good  condition,  the  ownership  of  that  portion  east 
of  the  Ohio  River  should  be  transferred  to  the  states  of  Virginia,  Penn- 
sylvania, and  Maryland,  each  having  previously  agreed  to  accept  the 
same.  It  was  later  provided  that  as  fast  as  the  western  extension  was 
completed  and  put  in  good  order  it  too  should  be  surrendered  to  the 
respective  states  through  which  it  lay.  Each  of  the  states,  as  it  came 
into  possession  of  the  road,  erected  gates  and  enacted  rates  of  toll  to 
be  collected,  and  tolls  were  collected  in  Ohio  during  the  early  years  of 
the  twentieth  century.     The  last  tolls  on  the  eastern  section  were  gath- 

t2i] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

ered  in  Maryland  in  1878,  after  which  the  counties  of  Allegany  and 
Garrett  acquired  that  portion  of  the  road  and  made  it  free.  The  last 
section  under  United  States  control  was  surrendered  to  the  state  of 
Illinois  in  1856. 

The  mail  stages  frequently  covered  the  distance  of  twenty-six  miles 
between  Frederick  and  Hagerstown  in  two  hours,  and  the  through 
freight  wagons  from  Baltimore  to  Wheeling  made  nearly  as  good  time. 
The  largest  of  the  latter  were  mammoth  affairs,  capable  of  carrying 
ten  tons,  and  drawn  by  twelve  horses;  the  rear  wheels,  ten  feet  high, 
had  tires  a  foot  broad.  The  traffic  was  like  a  frieze,  with  an  endless 
procession  of  figures.  There  were  sometimes  sixteen  gaily  painted 
coaches  each  way  a  day,  and  one  could  never  look  along  the  road  with- 
out seeing  a  drove  of  cattle  or  sheep,  while  the  canvas-covered  wagons, 
with  bows  of  bells  over  their  horses'  collars,  traveled  in  groups  which 
were  seldom  out  of  sight  of  each  other. 

Some  of  the  passes  through  the  Alleghanies  were  as  precipitous  as  any  in  the 
Sierra  Nevada,  and  the  mountains  were  as  wild.  Within  a  mile  of  the  road  the 
country  was  a  wilderness,  but  on  the  highway  the  traffic  was  as  dense  and  as  con- 
tinuous as  in  the  main  street  of  a  large  town.1 

With  the  completion  of  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railway  to  Cumber- 
land, the  section  of  the  old  road  east  of  that  point  lost  most  of  its 
business,  but  the  increased  travel  over  the  new  railroad  gave  a  great 
additional  traffic  over  the  portion  to  the  west,  which  for  four  years,  or 
until  the  railroad  reached  Wheeling  in  1853,  did  an  enormous  business. 

The  assistance  which  the  Cumberland  Road  gave  in  opening  the 
western  territories  for  settlement  is  beyond  computation,  and  it  is  fur- 
ther notable  as  the  first  recipient  of  government  assistance  to  enter- 
prises of  transportation.  In  Hulbert's  "  Historic  Highways  of  Amer- 
ica "  one  entire  volume  is  devoted  to  this  road,  its  history  being  given 
in  detail  in  most  interesting  manner. 

Many  other  roads  were  built,  wholly  or  in  large  part,  by  the  United 
States  government,  $3,200,000  being  spent  in  this  way  prior  to  the 
Civil  War.  Among  such  were  roads  in  Florida,  one  between  Chicago 
and  Detroit,  and  one  leading  into  Arkansas  from  Memphis,  all  of 
which  were  of  military  necessity  or  needed  for  post  routes,  and  from 
none  of  which  was  any  profit  derived.  Only  from  canal  companies' 
stocks  did  the  national  government  ever  seek  to  derive  any  dividends. 
Between  1825  and  1829,  $1,800,000  was  appropriated  by  Congress  for 
the  purchase  of  stock  in  the  Chesapeake  and  Delaware  Canal  Com- 
pany; $1,000,000  for  investment  in  that  of  the  Chesapeake  and  Ohio 
Canal  Company;  $200,000  for  the  Dismal  Swamp,  and  $233,500  for 
the  Louisville,  and  Portland,  Canal  companies;  and  the  United  States 
seemed  definitely  committed  to  the  policy  of  encouraging  internal  de- 
velopment in  that  manner.     But  $1,683,500  of  the  above-named  ap- 

1  "The  Old  National  Pike,"  Harper's  Monthly  for  November,  1879. 
[22] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   NEW    ENGLAND 

propriations  were  passed  on  the  second  of  March,  1829,  two  days 
before  John  Quincy  Adams  gave  up  the  seat  of  the  President  to  Andrew 
Jackson  and  a  reversal  of  many  national  policies  occurred. 

The  Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railway  was  then  under  construction  and 
meeting  many  difficulties  in  securing  the  needed  money;  and  its  pro- 
moters were  fondly  reciting  the  list  of  canal  investments  and  hoping 
for  equally  good  luck  for  themselves.  But  to  the  "  Maysville  Pike  " 
in  Kentucky  was  given  the  honor  of  making  the  test  case  under  the  new 
administration,  by  which  it  was  settled  that  no  more  government  money 
should  be  placed  in  private  enterprises. 


THE    MAYSVILLE    PIKE 

In  the  effort  to  maintain  communications  with  the  infant  settlements 
in  Kentucky,  Congress,  in  1796,  authorized  Ebenezer  Zane  to  cut  out, 
and  develop  into  a  passable  path,  an  old  buffalo  trail  which  passed  from 
Wheeling  through  the  sites  of  Zanesville,  Lancaster,  and  Chillicothe  to 
Aberdeen  on  the  Ohio,  opposite  the  little  town  of  Maysville  in  Ken- 
tucky. From  that  place  a  pioneer  road,  also  developed  from  buffalo 
trails,  led  through  Kentucky  and  Tennessee  to  the  lower  Mississippi 
valley  and  to  New  Orleans.  This  path  had  never  been  a  road,  and 
with  the  earliest  increase  of  passage  over  it,  its  condition  soon  became 
almost  impassable.  The  Kentucky  legislature  sought  in  vain  to  have 
the  general  government  improve  its  condition  and  made  all  the  appro- 
priations it  could  afford  itself  for  that  purpose. 

In  1828  a  bill  was  introduced  in  Congress  to  provide  for  the  build- 
ing of  a  branch  of  the  Cumberland  Road  from  Zanesville  through 
Maysville,  to  New  Orleans,  but  it  was  defeated  in  the  senate. 

In  1830  Kentucky  created  the  Maysville,  Washington,  Paris,  and 
Lexington  Turnpike  Road  Company  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  turn- 
pike through  those  towns,  along  the  old  route  to  New  Orleans.  As 
this  was  a  route  of  much  more  than  state  importance,  and  was  to  serve 
the  southern  territory  as  the  Cumberland  Road  had  the  western,  its 
advocates  did  not  easily  abandon  the  hope  of  assistance  from  the  na- 
tional treasury.  The  capital  stock  of  the  corporation  was  fixed  at 
$300,000,  of  which  the  United  States  was  to  be  allowed  to  subscribe 
for  $150,000,  while  Kentucky  pledged  itself  to  take  $25,000  of  the 
same.  An  appropriation  of  $150,000  by  the  house  of  representa- 
tives, with  which  the  secretary  of  the  treasury  was  to  subscribe  for 
such  stock  for  the  benefit  of  the  United  States,  was  concurred  in 
by  the  senate  on  May  15,  1830,  but  twelve  days  later  was  returned 
with  an  emphatic  veto  by  President  Jackson.  He  was  opposed,  he 
wrote,  to  any  such  expenditures  until  after  the  payment  of  the  national 
debt,  and  even  then  he  would  have  doubts  of  the  constitutionality  of  the 
proceeding.  The  road  was  objected  to  as  a  local  affair  and  not  a  mat- 
ter of  national  concern,  but,  since  we  have  found  it  to  be  a  part  of  a  great 

[23] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


thoroughfare  to  the  south  and  southwest,  that  objection  does  not  seem 
to  have  been  well  founded.  But  the  veto  held  and  ended  all  hopes  of 
government  aid  for  such  improvements,  and  the  Maysville  Pike  became 
a  household  word  throughout  the  United  States  if  it  did  not  derive  the 
financial  benefit  which  it  had  sought. 

But  the  Kentuckians  were  not  to  be  entirely  put  down.  If  the  United 
States  would  not  help  they  would  build  their  road  anyway,  so  the  turn- 
pike was  built  for  the  entire  sixty-four  miles  from  Maysville  to  Lexing- 
ton, with  six  covered  bridges  and  thirteen  tollhouses,  and  opened  for 
travel  in  1835.  The  cost  per  mile  is  said  to  have  been  $6662.50. 
Towns,  counties,  and  state  contributed  each  their  part,  Fayette  County 
taking  one  hundred  shares. 

The  Maysville  Pike  again  became  famous  through  litigation  and 
for  settling  a  much-vexed  question.  One  Dickey,  a  contractor  for  carry- 
ing the  mails,  conceived  that  he  was  entitled  to  travel  free  wheresoever 
his  contract  required  and,  being  obliged  to  pay  the  regular  tolls  upon 
this  road,  brought  suit  against  the  corporation.  The  decision  very 
properly  held  that  the  tolls  were  a  part  of  his  proper  expense  and  that 
he  was  not  entitled  to  wear  out  private  property  without  compensating 
therefor.  Especially  did  the  court  take  such  a  view  as  the  United  States 
had  refused  to  bear  any  part  of  the  expense  of  building  the  road.  On 
the  Cumberland  Road,  under  state  operation,  the  mail  stages  were 
passed  free,  although  payment  was  required  for  passengers  riding  on 
them,  but  that  road  was  built  in  whole  by  the  government  which  main- 
tained the  postal  routes,  and  it  was  but  equitable  to  allow  such  a 
discrimination.1 

Zane's  Trace,  as  the  path  opened  by  Ebenezer  Zane  from  Wheeling 
to  Maysville  was  called,  became  a  turnpike  for  much  of  its  length. 
From  Wheeling  to  Zanesville  it  was  incorporated  into  the  Cumberland 
Road,  and  other  turnpike  corporations  improved  the  balance  of  the 
route.  Turnpike  extensions  were  also  provided  beyond  Lexington, 
reaching  well  down  into  Tennessee,  but  the  railroads  came  before  the 
entire  route  had  been  thus  improved,  and  the  day  of  the  turnpike  was 
over. 


NEW   ENGLAND    ROADS    OF   THE   COLONIAL   PERIOD 

For  generations  untold  before  the  settlements  at  Plymouth  and  Bos- 
ton, the  Indians  followed  certain  trails  which  were  later  adopted  by 
the  white  men  for  their  early  roads.  Many  predecessors  of  Mas- 
sasoit  and  King  Philip  had  led  their  tribes  along  these  trails  on  warlike 
expeditions  or  on  annual  trips  to  lakes  and  ocean  to  secure  their  sup- 
plies of  fish  and  game,  and  consequently  such  paths,  worn  by  the  feet 
of  countless  braves  and  their  Indian  ponies,  were  well  denned,  often 

1  Acknowledgment  is  due  for  much  of  the  foregoing  to  an  article,  "The  Maysville  Pike," 
by  Samuel  M.  Wilson,  in  the  Ohio  Archaeological  and  Historical  Society's  publications  for  1909. 


[24] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

being  depressed  a  foot  or  two  below  the  adjoining  ground.  Many  may 
be  followed  to-day,  sometimes  in  comfort  by  automobile,  but  more 
often  with  jolting  and  shaking  over  little  used  country  roads. 

The  "  Coast  Path  "  between  Boston  and  Plymouth;  the  "  Kennebunk 
Road"  following  the  coast  northerly;  the  "  Bay  Road"  from  Boston 
through  Stoughton  to  Taunton;  the  "Old  Connecticut  Path,"  through 
Wayland,  Marlboro,  Worcester,  Oxford,  and  Springfield,  to  Albany 
and  thence  over  the  "  Iriquois  Trail"  to  Lake  Erie;  and  the  "Old 
Roebuck  Road "  through  Dedham,  East  Walpole,  Foxboro,  North 
Attleboro,  and  Pawtucket,  to  Providence,  were  the  principal  routes 
of  through  travel  which  centered  in  Boston.  The  last,  connecting  with 
the  "  Pequot  Path  "  which  connected  Providence  with  Westerly,  formed 
a  link  in  the  chain  of  paths  which  reached  from  Boston  to  New  York, 
over  which  a  monthly  post  was  established  about  1690.  That  it 
was  a  rough  and  narrow  road  we  know  from  Madam  Knight  who,  in 
1704,  made  the  trip  overland  from  Boston  to  New  York,  and  recorded 
all  her  trials  and  discomforts  for  future  generations  to  read.  At  the 
site  of  South  Attleboro  Village,  on  the  "  Old  Roebuck  Road,"  an- 
other trail  branched  off,  following  down  the  easterly  shore  of  the  See- 
konk  and  Providence  rivers  to  the  point  where  Bristol  is  now  situated. 
This  trail,  with  the  "  Old  Roebuck  Road,"  was  one  of  the  early  colonial 
roads,  a  primitive  ferry  from  Bristol  completing  the  journey  from  Bos- 
ton to  Newport. 

The  restrictive  policy  of  Great  Britain  toward  her  American  colo- 
nies, by  which  she  sought  to  prevent  all  intercolonial  trade,  reserving 
for  her  merchants  at  home  the  profits  of  such  intercourse,  almost  en- 
tirely prevented  the  improvement  and  development  of  those  early 
routes,  and  down  to  the  outbreak  of  the  American  Revolution  facilities 
for  travel  parallel  to  the  seacoast  were  sadly  lacking. 

The  early  settlements  were  naturally  on  the  coast,  and  water  com- 
munication, being  most  convenient,  was  generally  used.  As  the  fertile 
fields  of  the  inland  districts  gradually  drew  settlers  away  from  the  ocean 
it  obviously  became  necessary  to  have  roads  or  paths  connecting  the 
new  homes  with  the  older  settlements,  and  a  "  hit  or  miss  "  arrange- 
ment of  rough  roads,  radiating  from  central  points  on  the  coast, 
resulted.  Until  well  into  the  nineteenth  century  each  village  was  an 
independent  community,  having  its  own  church,  blacksmith,  shoemaker, 
gristmill,  and  country  store.  The  farmer's  clothing  for  the  day  and 
his  bedding  for  the  night  were  spun  and  woven  by  the  women  of  his 
own  family  from  the  wool  of  his  own  sheep.  The  grain  of  the  fields 
was  harvested  into  barns  on  the  same  premises,  or  ground  into  meal  or 
flour  at  the  mill  but  a  few  miles  distant.  From  the  cattle  of  his  own 
raising  he  laid  away  his  winter's  supply  of  meat,  and  the  hides,  dressed 
near-by,  were  made  into  shoes  by  the  local  artisan,  who  boarded  with 
his  patrons  as  he  performed  their  work.  Little  need  was  there  then 
for  many  roads.    The  one  fixed  journey  was  the  weekly  trip  to  church, 

[25] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

and  the  road  which  provided  the  facility  for  that  generally  led  also  to 
the  gristmill  and  to  the  country  store,  where  were  kept  the  few  articles 
needed  in  the  farmer's  daily  life,  which  his  own  labor  did  not  produce, 
and  where  also  he  could  dispose  of  the  surplus  which  his  farm  might 
yield. 

Long  distance  freight  movement  was  absolutely  impossible.  The  charge  for 
hauling  a  cord  of  wood  twenty  miles  was  three  dollars.  For  hauling  a  barrel  of 
flour  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  it  was  five  dollars.  Either  of  these  charges  was 
sufficient  to  double  the  price  of  the  article  and  set  a  practical  limit  to  its  conveyance. 
Salt,  which  cost  one  cent  a  pound  at  the  shore,  would  sometimes  cost  six  cents  a 
pound  three  hundred  miles  inland,  the  difference  representing  the  bare  cost  of  trans- 
portation. It  was  on  these  cheap  articles  of  common  use  that  the  charge  bore  most 
heavily.     It  forced  every  community  to  live  within  itself.1 

Such  were  the  facilities  of  transportation  in  the  new  United  States 
of  America  about  the  year  1 800.  Each  of  the  thirteen  original  colonies 
was  still  sufficient  unto  itself  and  contained  within  itself,  but  a  new  era 
was  dawning,  and  such  conditions  were  fast  becoming  intolerable.  The 
ambitious  growth  of  our  country  made  men  realize  that  duplication  of 
labor,  whereby  each  little  community  did  everything  that  was  done  in 
all  of  the  others,  was  wasteful,  and  that  a  geographical  division,  by 
which  each  section  would  perform  the  part  assigned  to  it  by  nature,  was 
inevitable. 

Manufactures  were  just  commencing  on  a  larger  scale,  and  the  mills 
and  factories  were  locating  in  situations  convenient  for  the  new  methods 
of  doing  business,  and  the  transportation  requirements  were  far  in  ex- 
cess of  the  existing  conveniences.  Ohio,  just  freed  by  "  Mad  Anthony  " 
Wayne  from  the  perils  of  Indian  warfare,  was  open  for  settlement,  and 
a  host  of  emigrants  was  hastening  westward,  bearing  with  them  all  their 
worldly  possessions  with  which  to  furnish  and  maintain  their  new 
homes. 

What  facilities  were  offered  to  these  factories  and  travelers  by  the 
older  communities,  many  of  which  were,  by  that  time,  approaching  their 
bi-centennial?  This  question  can  best  be  answered  by  a  brief  recital 
of  conditions  of  traveling  and  quality  of  roads  previous  to  that  time. 

The  Boston  News-Letter,  in  its  issue  of  April  4,  1720,  contained  the 
following : 

These  are  to  give  notice  that  the  stage  coach  between  Boston  and  Bristol  Ferry, 
for  once  a  fortnight  the  six  ensuing  months,  Intends  to  set  out  the  first  time  from 
Boston  at  Five  o'clock  on  Tuesday  Morning  the  1 2th  currant,  and  be  at  the  said 
Ferry  on  Wednesday  Noon,  when  those  from  New  Port  may  then  there  arrive,  and 
be  brought  hither  on  Friday  Night.  Such  as  have  a  mind  to  go  for  Bristol  or  Rhode 
Island,  may  agree  with  John  Blake  at  his  house  on  Sudbury-street,  Boston,  for  their 
passage  to  the  said  Ferry,  at  25s.  each  person,  with  14  Pounds  weight  of  carriage 
and  3d.  for  every  pound  over. 

The  route  of  that  stage  was  over  the  "  Old  Roebuck  Road,"  as 
previously  described,  as  far  as  South  Attleboro,  and  thence  down  the 

1  "  Railroad  Transportation,"  Hadley. 
[26] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

easterly  side  of  the  Seekonk  and  Providence  rivers  to  what  is  now  the 
city  of  Bristol;  and  the  comfort  of  the  ride  and  condition  of  the  roads 
may  be  deduced  from  the  time  required:  from  5  A.M.  Tuesday  to 
12  M.  Wednesday,  for  a  journey  of  fifty-five  miles. 

That  was  the  route  to  Newport,  at  that  time  the  largest  town  in 
Rhode  Island,  and  destined  a  few  years  later  to  overshadow  New  York 
as  a  commercial  port. 

The  first  regular  stage  between  Boston  and  Providence  was  es- 
tablished by  Thomas  Sabin  of  Providence  in  1767.  This  ran  weekly 
through  Pawtucket  and  South  Attleboro  to  North  Attleboro,  whence 
it  followed  the  route  of  the  present  state  highway  through  Wrentham 
and  Walpole  to  Dedham,  and  on  to  Boston  over  the  "  Neck."  The 
section  of  road  between  North  Attleboro  and  Wrentham  was  publicly 
laid  out  about  175 1.  Connecting  with  an  old  road  which  led  from 
Dedham  through  Walpole  and  Wrentham  toward  Woonsocket,  it  soon 
replaced  the  "  Old  Roebuck  Road,"  held  its  own  against  turnpike  com- 
petition, and  is  to-day  the  favorite  automobile  route.  The  time  con- 
sumed by  Sabin's  stage  is  not  known,  but  an  advertisement  of  a  stage 
over  the  same  route  in  1800  gives  us  the  running  time  then  as  ten  hours. 

A  weekly  stage  from  Boston  to  Portsmouth  appears  to  have  been 
established  in  1761,  making  the  trip  in  two  days.  McMasters  tells 
us  that  the  first  stage  between  New  York  and  Philadelphia  was  not 
"  set  up  "  until  1756,  and  made  the  run  then  in  three  days. 

June  25,  1772,  this  advertisement  appeared  in  the  New  York 
Journal: 

THE   STAGE    COACH 

between 

NEW   YORK   AND    BOSTON 

Which  for  the  first  time  sets  out  this  day  from  Mr  Fowler's  Tavern  (formerly 
kept  by  Mr  Stout)  at  Fresh  Water  in  New  York  will  continue  to  go  the  course  be- 
tween  Boston  and  New  York  so  as  to  be  at  each  of  those  places  once  a  fortnight 
coming  in  on  Saturday  evening  and  setting  out  to  return  by  way  of  Hartford  on 
Monday  morning.  The  price  to  passengers  will  be  4d.  New  York  or  3d.  lawful 
Money  per  Mile  and  Baggage  at  a  reasonable  price.  Gentlemen  and  Ladies  who 
choose  to  encourage  this  useful  new  and  expensive  Undertaking,  may  depend  upon 
good  Usage,  and  that  the  Coach  will  always  put  up  at  Houses  on  the  Road  where 
the  best  Entertainment  is  provided.  If  on  Trial,  the  Subscribers  find  Encourage- 
ment they  will  perform  the  Stage  once  a  week,  only  altering  the  Day  of  setting  out 
from  New  York  and  Boston  to  Thursday  instead  of  Monday  morning. 

Jonathan  and  Nicholas  Brown. 

These  dates  plainly  show  us  that  communication,  by  land  at  least, 
between  the  colonies  was  very  infrequent  down  to  the  outbreak  of  the 
Revolution,  and  the  conclusion  is  readily  reached  that  neither  roads 
nor  vehicles  were  such  as  to  produce  comfort. 

The  large  number  of  pleasure  carriages  in  use  in  Boston  in  1753 
is  accepted  by  some  as  evidence  of  the  excellence  of  American  roads  at 

[27] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

that  time,  but  the  author  is  inclined  to  make  the  deduction  as  local  as  the 
reason.  Undoubtedly  the  roads  in  Boston  and  immediate  vicinity  were 
good  although,  as  we  realize  to  this  day,  very  crooked,  but  the  effective 
radius  of  the  horses,  handicapped  by  the  crude  old-time  carriages,  must 
have  been  short,  and  the  evidence  is  strongly  to  the  effect  that  the 
interior  roads  were  very  bad.  The  moderate  requirement  as  to  width, 
found  in  the  old  Lancaster  (Massachusetts)  records,  wherein  it  is 
stipulated  that  the  proposed  road  shall  be  wide  enough  to  make  it 
"  feasible  to  carry  comfortably  four  oxen  with  four  barrels  of  cider 
at  once,"  suggests  that  it  was  necessary  to  spread  the  money  out  pretty 
thin. 

In  his  "  Development  of  Transportation  Systems  "  in  the  United 
States  J.  L.  Ringwalt  wrote : 

The  general  condition  of  transportation  facilities  up  to  the  time  of  the  Revolu- 
tion may  be  summarized  in  the  statement  that  over  the  main  portion  of  the  territory 
now  belonging  to  the  United  States,  no  improvement  whatever  had  been  effected 
except  in  the  addition  of  the  horse  to  the  list  of  aids  that  might  possibly  be  obtained ; 
that  in  all  important  and  thickly  settled  portions  of  the  country  a  marked  improve- 
ment in  available  water  craft  was  secured  by  the  use  of  ships  and  the  gradual  or 
partial  substitution  of  batteaux  and  boats  of  various  descriptions  for  canoes ;  and  that 
a  few  sections  had  tolerably  fair  common  roads.  Permanent  bridges  over  streams  of 
considerable  size  were  wholly  unknown.  The  best  substitute,  at  points  of  greatest 
importance,  such  as  the  Schuylkill  at  Philadelphia,  were  floating  bridges,  sustained 
by  boats.  Land  travel  was  almost  universally  on  horseback.  The  present  century 
[19th]  was  well  advanced  before  travelling  in  carriages  became  at  all  common,  ladies 
as  well  as  gentlemen  making  all  their  ordinary  journeys  on  horseback,  or  in  heavy 
farm  wagons. 

And  A.  B.  Hulbert,  author  of  "  The  Historic  Highways  of  America," 
says: 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  Revolutionary  War,  it  can  almost  be  said  that  nothing  had 
been  done  toward  what  we  to-day  know  as  road  building. 

During  that  war  the  interior  roads  were  much  improved  as  a  matter 
of  military  necessity,  and  because  the  safety  of  water  travel  was  men- 
aced by  the  British  war  vessels,  but  we  have  abundant  testimony  that 
our  country  started  with  a  deplorable  system  of  highways.  Then  the 
triweekly  postriders  between  New  York  and  Boston  required  six  days 
in  summer  and  nine  in  winter  for  the  trip.  During  Washington's  first 
term  two  stages  and  twelve  horses  were  all  that  the  business  between 
those  cities  required,  and  they  jogged  along,  covering  forty  miles  a  day 
in  summer  and  twenty-five  in  winter.  There  were  no  bridges  over  the 
larger  streams  or  many  of  the  smaller  ones,  and  the  stage  was  "  set 
over  "  by  ferries  propelled  by  oars  or  sails. 

In  McMasters'  "  History  of  the  United  States,"  under  the  heading 
"  The  State  of  America  in  1784,"  we  read: 

Much  of  the  delay  in  land  travelling  was  caused  by  the  wretched  condition  of 
the  highways.  On  the  best  lines  of  communication  the  ruts  were  deep,  the  descents 
[28] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


precipitous.  Travellers  by  coach  were  often  compelled  to  alight  and  assist  the  driver 
to  tug  the  vehicle  out  of  the  slough.  Nor  were  such  accidents  limited  to  the  desolate 
tracts  of  country.  Near  the  great  cities  the  state  of  the  roads  was  so  bad  as  to  render 
all  approach  difficult  and-  dangerous.  Out  of  Philadelphia  a  quagmire  of  black  mud 
covered  a  long  stretch  of  road  near  the  village  of  Rising  Sun.1  There  horses  were 
often  seen  floundering  in  mud  up  to  their  bellies.  On  the  York  road  long  lines  of 
wagons  were  every  day  to  be  met  with,  drawn  up  near  Logan's  Hill,  while  the 
wagoners  unhitched  their  teams  to  assist  each  other  in  pulling  through  the  mire. 

From  the  files  of  the  New  York  Daily  Advertiser  for  1833  we  glean 
the  following: 

About  1786,  a  great  many  of  the  passengers  between  Boston  and  New  York  took 
sloops  at  New  Haven  for  New  York,  and  vice  versa.  Along  the  shore  of  the  Sound, 
a  considerable  part  of  the  road  between  New  Haven  and  New  York  was  extremely 
rough,  rocky  and  uncomfortable,  and  in  fact,  in  some  places  impassable  for  wheeled 
vehicles. 

So  we  will  answer  our  question  by  saying  that  the  facilities  offered 
to  the  new  factories  and  to  the  westward-bound  travelers  were  prac- 
tically none,  and  that  extensive  additions,  amounting  to  practically  the 
creation  of  a  new  system,  were  demanded. 

But  a  country  which  had  successfully  waged  an  eight  years'  war  for 
independence  against  the  strongest  power  in  the  world,  which  had  over- 
come the  difficulties  causing  the  Shay's  Rebellion  and  the  Whisky  In- 
surrection, and  had  suppressed  an  instigated  Indian  uprising  on  its 
western  frontier,  was  not  to  be  daunted  by  any  difficulties. 

When  Alexander  Hamilton  made  his  investigation  of  the  manufac- 
tures of  the  United  States  in  1791,  he  found  a  small  but  creditable 
number  of  industries  all  eager  to  expand.  Of  cotton  he  found  but  few 
factories,  one  of  which  was  at  Beverly,  for  which  the  first  Massachusetts 
act  of  incorporation  for  manufacturing  was  passed  on  February  3,  1789. 
That  industry,  however,  owing  to  the  then  recent  inventions  of  Har- 
greaves  and  Arkwright,  was  about  to  make  phenomenal  advances. 
Watt's  steam  engine  was  invented  about  seven  years  prior  to  Hamilton's 
census,  and  the  tubular  boiler  was  only  a  year  younger  than  the  engine; 
but  the  mechanic  arts  had  not  then  sufficiently  advanced  to  render  the 
commercial  production  of  either  practicable,  so  the  new  factories  were 
obliged  to  derive  their  power  from  the  precipitous  rivers  such  as  abound 
in  New  England.  Such  powers  being  found  only  at  suitable  falls  of  the 
rivers,  it  obviously  followed  that  the  mill  locations  were  often  remote 
from  any  of  the  existing  roads  or,  if  near  them,  accessible  by  highways 
used  previously  for  neighborhood  communication  only  and  utterly 
unsuited  for  the  heavy  teaming  of  raw  and  finished  materials  of  manu- 
facture. Then,  too,  the  sale  of  the  products  demanded  outlets  to 
more  than  one  of  the  small  centers  of  that  time,  and  roads  of  other 
destinations  were  required.  But  who  was  to  pay  for  all  these  needed 
improvements  ? 

1  This  was  on  the  main  road  to  New  York. 

[29] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


Francis  H.  Kendall,  writing  in  the  New  England  Magazine,1  says : 

To  go  back  to  the  year  1800,  we  must  imagine  scattered  villages  within  the  terri- 
torial limits  of  most  of  the  towns  of  to-day,  with  but  little  manufacturing,  the  in- 
habitants being  usually  farmers,  depending  largely  on  the  products  of  their  own 
acres  for  their  sustenance  and  comforts.  Very  seldom  indeed  was  a  journey  of  much 
distance  undertaken  by  these  rural  inhabitants  to  obtain  things  of  a  different  sort  to 
add  to  their  comforts,  and  to  barter  and  trade  the  products  of  their  labor  for  "  wet 
and  dry  goods,"  such  as  molasses,  sugar,  tea,  rum,  and  cloths  other  than  homespun 
woven. 

And  to  those  of  us  who  have  attended  the  New  England  country 
town  meetings,  it  is  not  hard  to  go  further  and  imagine  the  difficulty  of 
persuading  those  same  "  rural  inhabitants  "  to  vote  appropriations  for 
the  building  of  roads  to  accommodate  those  "  new-fangled  factory 
people,"  for  the  towns  on  which  fell  the  burden  of  providing  those  pub- 
lic necessities  were  too  poor  to  stand  the  necessary  expense.  All  of 
them  were  impoverished  by  their  contributions  of  men,  money,  and  sup- 
plies in  the  war  for  independence,  and  by  the  struggle  of  the  next  decade 
to  maintain  themselves  against  the  commercial  warfare  waged  by  Eng- 
lish merchants.  The  states  were  in  no  better  condition,  and  it  was 
simply  out  of  the  question  for  the  public  funds  to  provide  for  the  in- 
creased transportation.  In  this  dilemma  relief  was  found  by  the  will- 
ingness of  private  citizens  to  invest  their  funds  and  energies  in  the 
construction  of  the  roads,  provided  the  same  might  be  done  as  a  con- 
servative business  investment.     How  was  this  to  be  accomplished? 

As  individuals  they  possessed  no  power  by  which  they  could  lay  their 
roads  in  the  best  locations;  they  could  not  take  over  or  improve  any 
portion  of  an  old  road,  nor  even  cross  one.  Their  collection  of  tolls, 
if  they  built  a  road,  could  not  be  enforced  and,  what  was  of  more  vital 
importance  to  them,  any  one  of  them  would  be  personally  liable  for 
injuries  or  damages  consequent  upon  any  defect  in  the  road,  or  action 
of  their  servants.  Only  from  the  state  could  they  obtain  such  rights 
and  desired  immunity,  and  under  conditions  which  would  assure  to  the 
public  the  rights  and  privileges  to  it  belonging. 

Such  undertakings  required  combinations  of  capital  in  excess  of  any- 
thing then  known  in  private  affairs,  and  a  permanent  form  of  organiza- 
tion was  necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  such  roads.  Out  of  these 
difficulties  grew  the  turnpike  corporations,  organized  to  construct  the 
roads  and  to  derive  revenue  from  the  collection  of  tolls. 

"  Though  the  ownership  is  private  the  use  is  public,"  said  one  learned 
judge  in  deciding  a  turnpike  case,  and  such  public  use  involved  the 
indiscriminate  right  of  all  individuals  who  paid  the  toll  to  travel  over 
the  roads  in  comfort  and  security  at  all  times.  On  the  other  hand,  in 
return  for  the  tolls  collected,  the  private  owners  were  under  obligations 
to  maintain  their  roads  constantly  in  proper  and  sufficient  repair. 

1  "  Turnpike  Roads  of  Middlesex  County,"  August,  1903. 
[SO] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


THE   FIRST   PUBLIC-SERVICE   CORPORATIONS 

In  earliest  English  law  we  find  special  obligations  imposed  on  those 
engaged  in  occupations  on  which  the  welfare  of  the  public  depended. 
The  surgeon,  from  the  scarcity  of  men  qualified  for  that  position,  had 
to  serve  a  large  number  and  enjoyed  a  monopoly  in  his  territory.  The 
consequences,  should  he  discriminate  against  any  individual  and  refuse 
to  attend  him,  would  be  far  too  serious,  and  hence  he  was  obliged  by 
law  to  serve  alike  all  who  stood  ready  to  pay  him.  In  similar  relations 
to  the  public  stood  the  tailor,  smith,  victualler,  baker,  innkeeper,  miller, 
carrier,  ferryman,  and  wharfinger.  By  competition  and  increased  num- 
bers engaged  in  the  occupations  most  of  the  above  trades  have  been 
removed  from  the  class  of  public  service,  but  the  obligation  still  rests 
upon  the  victualler  and  innkeeper;  the  carrier  has  been  succeeded  by  the 
railroads,  and  the  ferryman  by  the  publicly  maintained  bridges. 

The  organization  of  corporations  for  business  purposes  began  about 
this  time,  having  been  unknown  previous  to  the  Revolution,  and  by  far 
the  larger  part  of  the  first  twenty  years  of  such  productions  were  for 
the  purposes  of  turnpikes  and  toll  bridges.  In  old  English  law  a  cor- 
poration could  only  be  formed  by  charter  from  the  Crown  or  by  a 
special  act  of  Parliament.  Upon  the  severance  of  the  ties  to  the  mother 
country  such  powers  of  the  monarch  ceased  and  they  were  never  be- 
stowed upon  any  individual  officer  of  the  new  government.  General 
laws,  by  which  corporations  could  be  organized  by  complying  with 
certain  requirements  and  without  a  dispensation  from  some  supreme 
authority,  originated  in  New  York  in  1811,  at  which  time  laws  for  the 
formation  of  manufacturing  companies  were  enacted,  but  it  was  many 
years  before  such  privileges  were  extended  to  corporations  for  other 
purposes.  So,  at  the  opening  of  the  turnpike  era,  there  was  but  one 
power,  —  the  legislature  or  assembly  of  the  state,  —  which  could  grant 
a  charter  for  a  corporation;  and  as  long  as  turnpikes  were  projected 
this  condition  continued  in  New  England. 

The  charters  for  turnpike  purposes  thus  granted  bore  a  general 
resemblance  to  each  other;  in  fact  many  paragraphs  were  exactly  copied 
and  in  but  few  were  special  features  contained.  To  avoid  the  weary 
repetition  involved  in  the  duplicate  recital  of  routine  sections  of  turn- 
pike charters,  the  Massachusetts  legislature,  on  March  16,  1805,  en- 
acted them  all  into  a  general  law  and  provided  that  such  should  be  the 
rights,  powers,  and  privileges  of  all  turnpike  corporations  thereafter 
created.  By  this  procedure  Massachusetts  anticipated  by  forty  years 
the  famous  "  Companies'  Clauses  Consolidation  Act "  of  Great  Britain. 
The  other  New  England  states,  however,  continued  the  long-drawn-out 
repetition  with  each  company  formed,  although  Vermont,  in  1808, 
formed  eight  corporations  in  one  act  with  the  routine  sections  enacted 
once  for  all  of  them.     Otherwise  throughout  the  turnpike  history  of 

[31] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


New  England  we  find  a  special  act  of  a  legislature  creating  each 
corporation. 

As  the  turnpike  corporations  relieved  the  local  governments  of  their 
obligations  to  maintain  certain  highways,  it  was  but  proper  that,  some 
of  the  governmental  powers  should  be  conferred  upon  them.  Hence 
they  were  granted  the  rights  under  the  principle  of  eminent  domain, 
that  an  obstinate  landowner  could  not,  by  refusing  to  sell,  block  the 
great  enterprise  of  such  value  to  the  public.  They  were  further  allowed 
to  take  over  and  incorporate  into  their  roads  various  sections  of  what 
had  long  been  public  highways,  freely  open  to  all  classes  of  travel  but 
which,  under  the  control  of  the  turnpike  corporation,  became  subject 
to  the  interruption  of  a  gate  and  the  demand  for  toll.  Although  the 
occasion  for  the  last  privilege  was  provided  by  the  neglect  or  inability 
of  the  communities  to  keep  the  roads  in  proper  repair,  and  the  com- 
panies, in  consideration,  were  bound  to  maintain  properly  such  sections 
of  road,  the  diversion  from  public  to  private  control  caused  much  hos- 
tility on  the  part  of  the  local  population,  and  was  the  cause  of  much 
litigation,  and  several  times,  of  acts  of  violence.  Many  acts  of  the 
legislatures  have  been  found,  usually  in  behalf  of  a  special  corporation, 
providing  penalties  for  damages  done  to  the  road  or  its  gates.  A  popu- 
lar form  of  road  was  the  "  Shunpike,"  which  was  a  short  section  leav- 
ing the  turnpike  on  one  side  of  a  gate  and  joining  it  again  on  the  other. 
Special  and  general  laws  were  enacted  to  discourage  such  enterprises, 
and  penalties  were  provided  for  evasions  of  toll  by  other  means. 

What  now  seem  pretty  severe  restrictions  were  also  imposed  upon 
the  corporations.  They  were  limited  strictly  to  the  building  and  main- 
taining of  a  road,  and  were  not  allowed  to  do  any  other  act  or  thing. 
The  Rhode  Island  acts  generally  permitted  the  companies  to  acquire 
and  dispose  of  a  reasonable  amount  of  land,  but  in  the  other  New 
England  states  the  acquisition  of  a  few  acres,  that  the  keeper  of  a  re- 
mote tollhouse  might  cultivate  a  garden,  was  only  allowed  by  special 
legislative  act.  When  the  Torrington  Turnpike  was  laid  out  in  Con- 
necticut, it  entered  the  road  of  the  Talcott  Mountain  Turnpike  Corpora- 
tion at  a  flat  angle,  and  the  locating  committee  saw  fit  to  include  the 
little  triangle  in  the  layout  of  the  road.  But  the  assembly  of  1805 
declared  that  the  road  was  only  authorized  to  be  four  rods  in  width, 
that  the  taking  of  such  additional  land  was  illegal,  and  that  the  land 
was  still  owned  by  the  party  from  whom  the  committee  had  sought  to 
take  it. 

Rates  of  toll  were  fixed  in  the  charter,  and  the  number  of  gates  which 
the  company  was  to  be  allowed  to  erect  was  also  specified.  The  location 
of  the  gates  was  determined  by  the  committee  which  was  appointed 
to  inspect  the  road  after  completion,  and  gates  once  located  by  such 
committee  could  only  be  moved  by  legislative  consent.  The  location 
of  the  road  was  not  intrusted  to  the  judgment  of  those  who  were  in- 
vesting their  money  and  who  could  best  be  depended  upon  to  act  con- 
[32] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

scientiously,  but  was  delegated  to  a  committee  appointed  either  by  the 
legislature  or  by  the  judge  of  the  county  court.  Since  the  turnpike  was 
to  be  for  the  public  service,  the  representatives  of  the  public  fixed  its 
location,  as  had  previously  been  done  in  the  laying  out  of  public  roads. 

Corporations  formed  in  the  northern  New  England  states  did  not 
have  a  charter  provision  fixing  the  amount  of  their  capital  stock.  As 
the  company  was  to  be  allowed  to  do  only  certain  definite  things,  there 
seemed  to  be  no  need  of  limiting  the  amount  of  money  which  it  might 
raise,  and  considering  the  difficulty  experienced  by  nearly  all  the  projects 
in  getting  financed  there  was  no  need.  The  later  Vermont  companies 
were  chartered  with  a  nominal  capital  which  they  were  at  liberty  to 
increase  to  "  any  necessary  amount." 

There  were  two  forms  of  turnpike  franchises  in  New  England.  One 
form,  that  most  commonly  found  in  Connecticut,  was  that  in  which  an 
existing  old  road,  badly  in  need  of  repairs  and  beyond  the  resources  of 
the  local  authorities,  was  declared  no  longer  a  public  highway  and  was 
presented  to  a  turnpike  corporation  organized  for  the  purpose  of  put- 
ting it  in  good  order  and  thereafter  maintaining  it  so.  In  the  early 
Rhode  Island  corporations  we  find  the  same  method,  notably  in  the  case 
of  the  first  franchise  granted  there.  In  the  petition  for  a  charter  for 
that  company  it  was  recited  that  the  petitioners  had  raised  a  certain  sum 
which  they  would  expend  in  specified  repairs,  if  they  might  have  a  desig- 
nated highway  to  be  by  them  maintained  as  a  turnpike. 

The  second  form  of  franchise  was  that  in  which  the  intention  was 
to  have  an  entirely  new  road  built,  cutting  across  fields  and  through 
forests  hitherto  untouched  and  shortening  the  distance  between  the 
terminal  points.  Naturally  such  a  road  often  ran  into  some  old  road 
and  not  infrequently  followed  the  course  of  one  for  a  little  way,  but  it 
was  seldom  that  a  deflection  to  one  side  was  made  to  secure  such  a 
result. 

The  Connecticut  practice  in  providing  for  such  a  road  was  for  the 
assembly  to  pass  an  act  describing  in  more  or  less  detail  the  location, 
or  route  of  the  proposed  road,  to  declare  that  a  road  was  thereby  laid 
out  along  such  described  route,  and  to  decree  that  the  same  should  be  a 
public  highway.  Then  the  newly  established  public  character  of  the  road 
would  be  stripped  from  it,  and  a  corporation  would  be  formed  for  the 
purpose  of  building  the  road  and  operating  it  as  a  turnpike.  Under  this 
method  the  towns  were  required  to  acquire  and  pay  for  the  land  and  to 
build  the  bridges,  the  corporation  merely  building  the  road  itself,  unless 
a  bridge  of  considerable  size  was  necessary,  in  which  case  the  franchise 
might  require  the  corporation  to  build  it.  Naturally  such  procedure, 
putting  heavy  burdens  on  the  towns  which  they  were  not  willing  to 
assume,  for  conveniences  which  they  themselves  had  not  desired,  caused 
much  dissatisfaction,  and  in  1803  New  Milford,  at  a  town  meeting, 
appointed  a  committee  to  confer  with  other  towns  in  an  effort  to  have 
the  granting  of  such  turnpike  franchises  stopped.     But  the  effort  did 

[33] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

not  succeed  and  many  more  such  turnpikes  were  established.  It  can 
easily  be  conceived  that  after  a  lapse  of  several  years  some  confusion 
arose  as  to  the  responsibility  for  different  bridges,  and  a  general  act 
of  the  Connecticut  assembly  was  needed  to  straighten  out  the  difficulty. 

In  most  of  the  early  Massachusetts  charters  for  roads  of  this  class 
it  was  directed  that  the  turnpike  should  be  built  in  as  straight  a  line 
as  possible,  and  this  was  nearly  always  done  with  unfortunate  results, 
as  the  resultant  location  led  up  and  down  hill  regardless  of  grades,  and, 
disregarding  centers  of  population,  usually  rendered  the  road  of  little 
practical  use.  It  does  not  appear,  however,  that  this  condition  was 
imposed  without  the  consent  of  the  persons  incorporated,  for  the  one 
idea  pervading  the  minds  of  turnpike  promoters  seemed  to  be  to  build 
in  a  straight  line  whenever  possible.  In  fact  the  crookedness  of  existing 
roads  was  the  chief  argument  used  by  petitioners  for  turnpike  fran- 
chises, and  hence  they  were  more  or  less  bound  to  build  straight  roads. 

A  quaint  old  book,  published  in  1806,  entitled  "  Rural  Economy," 
by  S.  W.  Johnson,  contains  some  ambitious  sections  on  turnpikes.  Of 
their  layout  it  says : 

The  shortest  line  is  a  straight  one  and  can  not  be  rivalled,  and  as  such  merits  the 
first  consideration. 

The  author  advised  laying  out  the  route  on  the  ground  by  that  principle, 
and  that  it  be  abandoned  only  in  the  face  of  "  innumerable  obstruc- 
tions." The  maximum  angle  of  ascent  should  be  exceeded  if  thereby 
the  straight  line  could  be  maintained. 

Nearly  all  the  Massachusetts  turnpikes  were  of  this  latter  class,  of 
which  the  Newburyport,  the  Norfolk  and  Bristol,  and  the  New  Bedford 
and  Bridgewater  furnish  striking  illustrations. 

Only  two  types  of  road  were  ever  specified  in  the  New  England 
charters.  There  was  the  "  turnpike-road,"  with  no  attempt  to  describe 
its  character  or  quality,  and  the  "  plank  road."  In  the  former  case  the 
corporation  was  left  free  to  choose  whether  it  would  build  a  high-grade 
macadam  road  or  just  clear  away  the  trees  and  sod  and  make  a  common 
dirt  road.  Where  plank-road  franchises  were  granted  some  very  simple 
specifications  were  generally  included  in  the  charter,  requiring  that  the 
"  track  of  the  road  "  should  be  laid  with  plank  "  or  some  other  hard 
material,"  and  that  it  should  present  a  smooth  and  even  surface.  Only 
about  a  half-dozen  plank  roads  were  ever  built  in  New  England,  and 
those  were  in  Vermont  and  Connecticut. 

The  modern  public-service  commissions  were  anticipated  by  Con- 
necticut as  early  as  1803,  when  an  act  was  passed  providing  that  two 
commissioners  should  be  appointed  annually  for  each  turnpike  in  the 
state,  with  powers  to  inspect  and  compel  repairs.  Vermont  enacted  a 
more  practical  law  in  1806  by  providing  for  the  appointment  of  three 
turnpike  inspectors  for  each  county,  with  authority  over  all  roads  within 
their  territory.     In  Massachusetts  a  provision  by  which  a  justice  of  the 

[34] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

court  of  common  pleas  could  order  repairs  and  enforce  his  order  ap- 
pears in  1805,  and  in  1840  such  powers  were  conferred  upon  the  county 
commissioners.  In  all  the  states  the  turnpikes  were  liable  to  indictment 
for  being  in  bad  order,  which  rendered  the  corporation  liable  to  a  fine, 
the  same  as  in  the  case  of  the  towns.  But  it  would  seem  that  it  was 
often  cheaper  to  pay  a  fine  than  to  make  repairs,  so  the  officials  men- 
tioned above  were  given  power  to  throw  open  the  tollgates  when  their 
orders  were  not  obeyed. 

Rosy  hopes  were  entertained  in  all  the  New  England  states  of  the 
financial  success  of  turnpikes.  No  limit  to  the  life  of  the  franchises  was 
thought  necessary,  other  than  the  provision  that,  when  the  investors  had 
been  repaid  their  original  investment  plus  interest  at  the  rate  of  twelve 
per  cent,  the  road  should  revert  to  the  public.  With  the  possible  ex- 
ception of  the  turnpike  between  Providence  and  Pawtucket,  not  one 
New  England  road  ever  came  within  gunshot  of  realizing  such  expec- 
tations, the  best  Massachusetts  road,  that  of  the  Salem  Turnpike 
Corporation,  reporting  an  average  net  earning  of  three  and  one  tenth 
per  cent  over  a  period  of  sixty  years. 

Under  authority  of  these  turnpike  charters  roads  were  built  all  over 
New  England,  except  in  Maine,  where  few  obtained  a  footing.  Every 
town  of  any  importance,  and  many  of  none,  had  its  turnpike  connections, 
often  radiating  in  all  directions,  while  the  routes  leading  from  the  more 
populous  centers  were  frequently  paralleled  and  but  a  short  distance 
apart. 

The  turnpike  era  began  in  New  England  in  1792,  when  the  first 
turnpike  was  established  between  New  London  and  Norwich,  and  it  may 
be  said  to  have  ended  about  1850,  although  at  the  opening  of  the  year 
19 17  there  were  four  companies  still  doing  business  in  New  Hampshire, 
and  one  in  Vermont.  Contrary  to  the  general  impression  the  railroads 
were  not  usually  responsible  for  the  cessation  of  turnpike  operation. 
In  the  few  cases  where  favorable  conditions  had  kept  the  old  toll  roads 
alive  until  the  invasion  of  their  territory  by  the  locomotive,  it  was  but 
natural  that  the  competition  should  relegate  the  old-fashioned  methods 
to  the  past;  but  in  the  majority  of  cases  the  turnpikes  had  given  up  the. 
struggle  before  the  appearance  of  the  rival.  It  was  simply  a  case  of 
not  enough  business  to  make  the  investment  pay. 

There  were  three  grades  of  turnpike  roads  as  constructed  in  America 
but,  owing  to  the  rigors  of  the  New  England  winters,  one  of  them  was 
not  adapted  for  this  section.  Hence  we  had  two  grades  within  the  scope 
of  this  volume : 

First,  those  where  the  only  improvement  consisted  in  the  reduction  of 
hills,  and  in  the  formation  of  a  convex  roadbed  with  ditches  on  the 
sides,  using  the  natural  soil  for  making  the  road.  By  cutting  the  hills 
to  a  determined  grade  the  angle  of  ascent  was  made  much  easier,  en- 
abling the  horses  to  draw  larger  and  heavier  loads;  and  by  the  shaping 
and  ditching  of  the  roadway  standing  water  was  prevented  and  the 

[35] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

road  kept  dry.  Such  roads  cost,  in  Massachusetts,  from  six  hundred 
to  a  thousand  dollars  a  mile,  but  were  expensive  to  maintain,  as  the 
wheels  of  passing  vehicles  made  ruts  in  the  soft  material,  in  which 
the  water  would  stand,  softening  the  entire  structure. 

The  second  class,  of  which  there  were  but  few,  comprised  those  roads 
where  a  substantial  surface  of  gravel  was  provided,  supposedly  of  suf- 
ficient depth  to  withstand  the  action  of  the  frost.  Such  were  known  as 
"  artificial  roads  "  on  account  of  the  material  for  the  surfacing  being 
brought  from  some  other  place,  and  in  distinction  from  the  "  natural 
roads,"  where  the  surface  was  made  from  the  soil  on  the  spot  or  thrown 
out  in  digging  the  ditches.  The  only  roads  in  Massachusetts  surely  of 
this  class  were  the  Newburyport,  the  Salem,  and  the  Norfolk  and 
Bristol,  or  the  Providence  Road. 

One  of  the  great  points  gained  by  the  construction  of  turnpikes  was 
the  establishment  of  easier  grades  than  those  previously  maintained. 
The  advantage  thus  obtained  was  thus  expressed  in  the  old  days: 

It  is  found  that,  upon  a  slope  of  one  in  forty-four  or  one  hundred  and  twenty 
feet  to  the  mile,  a  horse  can  draw  three  quarters  as  much  as  he  can  upon  a  level. 
On  a  slope  of  one  in  twenty-four  or  two  hundred  and  twenty  feet  to  the  mile,  one 
half  as  much,  and  on  a  slope  of  one  in  ten  or  five  hundred  and  twenty-eight  feet  to 
the  mile,  one  quarter  as  much.  But  these  proportions  vary  with  the  condition  of  the 
road,  the  grade  being  virtually  increased  by  its  softness. 

The  comparative  advantages  of  different  kinds  of  surfacing  was 
expressed  in  rather  a  back-handed  way,  for  they  said: 

The  greatest  estimated  inclination  down  which  a  horse  can  safely  trot  is  one  in 
fifteen  on  a  gravel  or  dirt  road,  one  in  thirty-five  or  forty  on  a  macadamized  road, 
and  one  in  sixty  on  roads  paved  with  blocks. 

In  a  report  made  in  1 83 1  by  the  canal  commissioners  of  Pennsyl- 
vania, the  increased  efficiency  of  teams  resulting  from  turnpike  construc- 
tion was  stated  to  be  sufficient  to  enable  four  horses  which  would  draw 
on  a  common  road,  in  addition  to  the  weight  of  the  wagon  containing 
the  load,  one  ton  a  distance  of  twelve  miles,  to  move  on  a  turnpike  with 
grades  not  exceeding  five  degrees  (eight  and  seven  tenths  per  cent)  one 
and  one  half  tons  a  distance  of  eighteen  miles.  In  other  words,  the 
energy  which  was  necessary  to  move  one  ton  twelve  miles  on  the  old 
roads  was  sufficient  to  move  the  same  ton  twenty-seven  miles  on  a  turn- 
pike, —  an  increased  efficiency  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  per  cent. 

In  his  efforts  to  compile  all  available  information  for  his  report  to 
the  senate,  to  which  reference  was  had  on  our  earlier  pages,  Secretary 
Gallatin  sought  a  report  from  Robert  Fulton,  the  distinguished  inventor. 
In  his  reply,  which  was  really  an  extended  argument  against  turnpikes 
and  in  favor  of  canals,  Fulton  gave  figures  on  the  cost  of  transportation 
over  turnpikes,  from  which  it  is  figured  that  the  toll  charges  amounted 
to  slightly  over  1.35  cents  per  ton  per  mile,  and  that  the  entire  cost, 
including  wages,  feed,  tolls,  wear  and  tear,  etc.,  of  moving  flour  from 

[36] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

Columbia  to  Philadelphia  was  13.51  cents  per  ton-mile.  A  load  ranged 
from  five  to  seven  thousand  pounds  and  traveled  about  eighteen  miles 
per  day.  The  freight  rate  from  Philadelphia  to  Pittsburgh  was  from 
two  to  two  and  a  half  dollars  a  hundred  pounds;  and  from  Philadelphia 
"to  Columbia,  a  distance  of  seventy-four  miles,  the  rate  was  from  thirty- 
seven  and  a  half  to  fifty  cents. 

In  1794,  previous  to  turnpike  improvements,  the  cost  of  shipping 
goods  to  Pittsburgh  by  wagon  ranged  from  five  to  ten  dollars  a  hundred 
pounds.  The  price  of  salt  in  that  remote  frontier  town  was  five  dollars 
a  bushel,  and  iron  and  steel  sold  for  fifteen  to  twenty  cents  a  pound 
owing  to  the  expense  of  transportation,  the  source  of  the  iron  of  the 
country  being  then  near  the  coast. 


HOW   THE   WORK  WAS   DONE 

In  these  days  of  labor-saving  machinery  and  devices  for  performing 
enormous  amounts  of  work,  it  is  difficult  to  imagine  the  difficulties  under 
which  the  turnpike  constructors  labored.  There  were  no  factories  in 
which  the  ordinary  tools  of  daily  life  were  manufactured  in  quantities, 
and  they  were  not  to  be  found  in  larger  amounts  than  probably  half  a 
dozen  in  the  stores.  If  a  man  wanted  a  shovel,  a  pick,  rake,  or  hoe, 
he  might  find  one  in  a  store,  but  more  likely  he  would  have  to  wait  the 
convenience  of  the  local  blacksmith,  who  would  hammer  them  out  one 
at  a  time  on  his  order. 

From  Bishop's  "  History  of  Manufacturing  "  we  learn  that  the  great 
shovel  factory  of  the  Ames  Company,  in  North  Easton,  Massachu- 
setts, was  founded  in  the  most  primitive  manner  in  1804  by  Oliver 
Ames,  Sr.  Procuring  the  material  for  about  a  dozen  shovels,  he  would 
proceed  to  fashion  them  in  his  shop,  after  which  he  would  journey  to 
the  town  for  the  purpose  of  selling  them.  With  the  proceeds,  stock  for 
another  dozen  would  be  bought.  So  we  can  see  that,  during  the  period 
of  turnpike  construction,  few  shovels  were  to  be  had  at  short  notice. 
Oziel  Wilkinson,  who  had  the  contract  for  building  thirteen  miles  of 
the  Norfolk  and  Bristol  Turnpike  in  1805-06,  was  obliged  to  set  up 
a  shop  of  his  own  in  Pawtucket,  in  which  he  manufactured  the  shovels 
and  picks  needed  for  his  work. 

Carts  and  wagons  were  no  more  easily  obtained,  each  one  being 
"  custom  made  "  by  a  local  smith,  who  probably  made  no  more  than 
three  or  four  in  a  prosperous  year.  Had  it  not  been  possible  to  hire 
as  laborers  the  farmers  along  the  route,  with  their  horses,  carts,  and 
tools,  it  is  doubtful  if  the  work  could  have  been  accomplished  at  all. 

The  grading  of  the  roadbed  was  accomplished,  as  it  would  be  to-day, 
by  shoveling  the  earth  into  carts  and  hauling  it  to  its  destination  and 
shaping  it  to  finished  form  by  rakes  or  hoes. 

Ledges  were  drilled  by  hand  with  locally  made  drills.  The  time  fuse 
was  unknown  then,  and  the  old  method  of  laying  a  train  of  powder  was 

[37] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

used  to  explode  the  blasting  charges  of  powder.  The  hole  having  been 
drilled  and  loaded,  a  long  hollow  quill  was  inserted  in  the  powder  with 
its  upper  end  above  the  surface  of  the  rock.  The  tamping  was  then 
placed  around  the  quill  which,  filled  with  powder  and  connected  with 
the  train,  carried  the  fire  to  the  charge. 

The  line  was  staked  out  by  means  of  a  surveyor's  compass  like  those 
in  use  to-day,  or  with  a  circumferentor,  an  instrument  long  forgotten. 
For  work  of  the  most  exacting  character  there  was  available  an  instru- 
ment of  greater  precision,  including  a  telescope  with  cross  hairs;  but 
such  instruments  were  few  and  only  to  be  had  at  great  expense.  The 
engineer's  transit  did  not  appear  until  after  1830.  In  Robert  Gibson's 
"The  Theory  and  Practice  of  Surveying,"  published  in  181 1,  the  cir- 
cumferentor is  thus  described: 

This  instrument  is  composed  of  a  brass  circular  box,  about  five  or  six  inches  in 
diameter,  within  which  is  a  brass  ring,  divided  on  the  top  into  360  degrees,  and  num- 
bered 10,  20,  30,  etc.  to  360:  in  the  center  of  the  box  is  fixed  a  steel  pin,  finely 
pointed,  called  a  center  pin,  on  which  is  placed  a  needle  touched  by  a  loadstone, 
which  always  retains  the  same  situation ;  that  is,  it  always  points  to  the  North  and 
South  points  of  the  horizon  nearly,  when  the  instrument  is  horizontal  and  the  needle 
at  rest.  .  .  .  This  box  is  fixed  by  screws,  to  a  brass  index  or  ruler,  of  about  14  or 
15  inches  in  length,  to  the  ends  whereof  are  fixed  brass  sights,  which  are  screwed  to 
the  index,  and  stand  perpendicular  thereto;  in  each  sight  is  a  large  and  small  aper- 
ture, or  slit,  one  over  the  other.  .  .  .  Set  on  ball  and  socket  and  on  the  head  of  a 
three  legged  staff,  whose  legs,  when  extended,  support  the  instrument  whilst  it  is 
used. 

These  instruments  were  operated  by  "  mearsmen,"  and  anyone  who 
has  motored  over  the  Newburyport,  Salem,  Norfolk  and  Bristol,  or 
New  Bedford  and  Bridgewater  turnpikes  will  join  in  a  tribute  to  the 
skill  with  which  those  crude  old-time  instruments  were  made  to  project 
long  straight  lines.  Johnson  said,  in  his  "  Rural  Economy,"  that  when 
the  extreme  points  of  a  long  line  cannot  be  taken  at  one  operation,  that 
is,  when  the  straight  section  is  so  long  that  its  entire  length  cannot  be 
seen  from  one  position  of  the  instrument,  more  accuracy  than  that  of 
a  quarter  compass  or  circumferentor  will  be  needed.  Then  would  be 
required  the  use  of  a  "  telescope  with  intersecting  hairs." 

An  anticipation  of  the  present-day  wye  level,  "  a  telescope  with  a 
spirit  level,"  was  used  in  connection  with  "  station  staves  "  in  running 
the  levels  and  determining  the  grades.  Horizontal  measurements  were 
taken  with  a  "  Gunter's  chain  of  four  poles  or  perches,  which  consists 
of  one  hundred  links."  Thanks  to  old  deeds  any  modern  surveyor 
knows  about  Gunter's  chain  —  that  it  was  sixty-six  feet  long  and  each 
link,  consequently,  7.92  inches. 


PLANK   ROADS 

When  the  pioneer  road  builders  had  occasion  to  cross  a  swampy 
piece  of  ground  they  made  a  bed  of  tree  trunks  set  transversely  to  the 
[38] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

road  and  closely  adjacent  to  each  other.  This  form  of  road  was  called 
"  corduroy,"  and  over  it  the  vehicles  went  in  a  succession  of  bumps, 
painful  to  the  traveler  and  destructive  to  the  running  gear.  Of  such  a 
piece  of  road,  encountered  between  Columbus  and  Sandusky,  Dickens 
wrote : 

A  great  portion  of  the  way  was  over  what  is  called  a  corduroy  road  which  is 
made  by  throwing  trunks  of  trees  into  a  marsh,  and  leaving  them  to  settle  there. 
The  very  slightest  of  the  jolts  with  which  the  ponderous  carriage  fell  from  log  to 
log,  was  enough  it  seemed,  to  have  dislocated  all  the  bones  in  the  human  body.  .  .  . 
Never,  never  once  that  day,  was  the  coach  in  any  position,  attitude,  or  kind  of 
motion  to  which  we  are  accustomed  in  coaches. 

But  crude  and  pain-productive  as  those  old  corduroy  roads  were,  they 
were  founded  on  scientific  principles  of  economy  and  stable  foundation 
in  insecure  places,  and  it  is  but  natural  that  their  use  should  have  been 
continued  after  sawmills  had  made  it  possible  to  lay  timbers  of  uni- 
form thickness.  Of  the  same  class  were  the  plank  roads  so  popular 
in  the  interior  states,  but  refined  and  made  more  endurable  by  the  ad- 
vance in  mechanic  arts. 

From  a  small  book  with  a  large  title,  —  "  The  History,  Structure, 
and  Statistics  of  Plank  Roads,"  —  published  in  1850  by  W.  Kingsford, 
much  regarding  such  roads  is  learned.  They  were  in  nearly  all  cases 
of  single  track,  laid  on  the  right  side  of  the  road  as  one  faced  the  large 
town  to  which  it  led.  In  the  prairie  regions  the  planking  lay  on  the 
original  surface  of  the  ground,  but  in  some  places  a  small  amount  of 
grading  was  needed  to  avoid  short  steep  ascents.  The  subgrade  once 
established,  longitudinal  trenches  were  dug  in  which  sills  consisting  of 
three-inch  plank  four  and  eight  inches  wide  were  placed,  and  on  them 
were  laid  the  planks,  three  inches  thick  and  eight  feet  long,  at  right 
angles  to  the  direction  of  the  road.  The  sills  were  set  slightly  below 
the  surface  of  the  ground,  and  the  planks  were  pounded  down  to  rest 
upon  them  by  means  of  a  large  wooden  mallet  known  as  a  "  com- 
mander." No  nails  or  pins  were  then  needed  to  hold  the  planks  down, 
and  it  is  reported  that  it  was  hard  work  to  take  one  of  them  up.  After 
the  planks  were  laid  the  earth  was  packed  against  their  ends  and  soundly 
tamped  into  place.  The  portion  of  the  highway  not  occupied  by  the 
plank  road  was  usually  maintained  as  a  common  dirt  road  and  was 
locally  known  as  the  "  turn-off,"  because  light  loads  had  to  leave  the 
planks  and  follow  it  when  passing  a  team  proceeding  the  other  way.  In 
order  that  a  wagon  might  regain  the  planked  surface  without  its  wheels 
sliding  along  the  edges,  the  planks  were  staggered,  that  is,  one  half  of 
them  had  their  ends  in  a  line  straight  with  each  other,  while  the  other 
half  were  alternately  advanced  to  a  line  six  inches  farther  out,  producing 
a  border  effect  like  the  battlements  of  a  castle.  Ordinarily  two  stringers 
were  used  but  occasionally  three.  Over  the  completed  planking  a  layer 
of  sand  was  spread  and  maintained,  which  preserved  the  road  by  reduc- 
ing the  cutting  by  the  calks  of  the  horseshoes.     It  was  claimed  for  this 

[39] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


coating  that  a  saving  of  forty  to  fifty  per  cent  was  secured  in  the  wear 
of  the  road.  Very  few  double-track  roads  were  ever  laid,  and  in  the 
few  cases  it  was  preferred  to  lay  two  single  tracks,  apart  from  each 
other  and  supposedly  on  opposite  sides  of  the  "  turn-out." 

Yellow  pine  was  preferred  for  the  planking  in  central  New  York, 
on  account  of  its  durability  and  freedom  from  knots,  but  hemlock  and 
white  pine  were  extensively  used,  while  beech,  maple,  and  elm  were 
employed  in  some  places. 

It  can  readily  be  understood  that  timber  laid  in  such  positions  was 
subject  to  early  decay  unless  extra  precautions  were  taken  to  avoid 
wetting.  A  ditch  was  usually  required  along  one  side  of  the  road  at 
a  depth  of  two  feet  below  the  surface  of  the  planking,  and  the  roadbed 
itself  was  given  a  side  pitch  of  one  inch  in  all  places  where  the  longi- 
tudinal inclination  was  not  sufficient  for  drainage  of  the  surface. 

The  first  application  of  the  plank  principle  in  the  western  continent, 
and  probably  in  the  world,  occurred  in  Toronto  in  1835,  when  the  north- 
erly extension  of  Yonge  Street  was  built  in  that  way.  The  cost  of  the 
planks  and  labor  of  laying  them  was  reported  as  five  hundred  and 
twenty-five  pounds  for  one  mile,  besides  which  was  the  cost  of  ditching 
and  the  application  of  a  coat  of  sand.  During  the  next  ten  years  about 
four  hundred  and  forty-two  miles  df  plank  roads  were  laid  in  Canada. 

Commencing  about  1846  that  form  of  construction  was  begun  in 
New  York,  and  in  1850  twenty-one  hundred  and  six  miles  were  either 
completed  or  in  process  of  construction.  They  seem  to  have  been  built 
in  radiating  clusters  around  various  important  towns.  One  hundred 
and  sixty-three  miles  centered  in  Utica,  one  hundred  and  forty-eight 
miles  in  Rome,  ninety-nine  miles  in  Syracuse,  while  Rochester,  in  1850, 
had  only  two  roads  with  a  mileage  of  eleven  and  one  half  completed, 
but  seven  other  roads,  with  a  mileage  of  one  hundred  and  thirty  were 
being  built. 

Fifty  per  cent  additional  tractive  efficiency  was  claimed  for  plank 
roads  over  the  type  of  macadam  road  then  in  use,  and  a  great  saving 
in  first  cost  and  maintenance  was  shown.  Of  course  the  planks  would 
rapidly  decay,  and  it  was  considered  necessary  to  figure  that  a  road 
would  have  to  be  rebuilt  at  the  end  of  every  seven  years. 

Nineteen  New  York  roads  cost  from  $1150  to  $2555,  or  an  average 
of  $1575  per  mile.  Some  of  them  are  still  in  existence,  and  anyone 
having  occasion  to  appraise  them  at  replacement  value  should  note 
that  the  hemlock  plank  wac  bought  at  a  price  of  from  five  to  seven 
dollars  per  thousand,  while  beech  and  maple  cost  as  much  as  nine  dol- 
lars and  fifty  cents.  The  land  had  generally  been  given  for  the  purposes 
of  a  road,  without  cost. 

Tolls  in  New  York  were  limited  so  as  not  to  exceed  one  and  one- 
half  cents  a  mile  for  a  vehicle  drawn  by  two  animals,  with  other  rates 
in  proportion.  Kingsford  stated  that  there  was  not  a  case  known  of 
plank-road  stock  selling  at  a  discount,  and  he  noted  several  companies 
[40] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

which,  after  setting  aside  enough  to  provide  for  relaying  at  the  end 
of  seven  years,  had  declared  dividends  of  from  ten  to  twenty  per  cent. 

New  Jersey  had  several  plank  roads,  among  the  most  notable  of 
which  was  the  one  across  the  marshes  between  Newark  and  Jersey  City. 

In  response  to  a  petition  from  the  inhabitants  of  the  district  the 
New  Jersey  legislature  of  1765  provided  for  the  building  of  a  road 

from  Newark,  in  Essex  County,  to  the  road  from  Bergen  Point  to  Paulus  Hook,  on 
Hudson  River, 

with  the  privilege  of  maintaining  ferries  at  the  crossings  of  the  Hacken- 
sack  and  Passaic  rivers.  The  act  formed  nine  commissioners  into  "  a 
Body  Politick  and  Corporate  in  Fact  and  Name  to  all  Intents  and 
Purposes  fore-ever  "  under  the  name  of  "  The  Trustees  of  the  Road 
and  Ferries  from  Newark  to  the  road  leading  from  Bergen  Point  to 
Paulus  Hook."  These  trustees  were  to  construct  the  road  and  estab- 
lish the  ferries  by  means  of  voluntary  contributions  up  to  five  thousand 
pounds.  No  tolls  were  to  be  collected  for  traveling  on  the  road,  but 
ferriage  was  to  be  exacted  from  all  except  the  governor  and  his  at- 
tendants, it  apparently  being  expected  that  the  proceeds  of  such  collec- 
tions would  be  sufficient  to  maintain  the  road  and  ferries  when  once 
established. 

The  portion  of  the  road  between  the  two  ferries  was  over  the 
marshes  sometimes  called  the  Newark  marshes,  and  there  the  road 
builders  were  called  upon  to  exercise  all  their  ingenuity  to  maintain  a 
road  upon  the  shaky  and  insecure  soil.  The  difficulty  was  solved  by 
the  primitive  corduroy  road,  and  a  causeway  of  that  form  was  laid 
soon  after  1765.  Over  this  causeway  the  brilliant  but  ill-fated  Girondist 
leader,  Brissot  de  Warville,  traveled  soon  after  the  American  Revolu- 
tion, and  of  it  he  wrote : 

Built  wholly  of  wood,  with  much  labor  and  perseverance,  in  the  midst  of  water,  on 
a  soil  that  trembles  under  your  feet,  it  proves  to  what  point  may  be  carried  the 
patience  of  man,  who  is  determined  to  conquer  nature. 

This  old  road,  with  frequent  repairs  and  leveling  of  its  roughest  places, 
served  the  traveling  public  for  about  eighty-five  years,  at  the  end  of 
which  time  an  up-to-date  plank  road  assumed  its  burdens. 

That  the  rough  corduroy  was  not  satisfactory  is  seen  from  the  in- 
corporation of  a  turnpike  company  in  1828,  to  which  was  to  be  given 
the  old  road  with  the  privilege  of  tolls  upon  it,  if  a  new  macadam 
roadbed  was  built  in  place  of  the  bed  of  logs.  This  venture,  the  Pas- 
saic and  Hackensack  Road  and  Ferry  Company,  was  too  far  in  advance 
of  the  times.  No  means  being  then  known  of  constructing  a  firm  road 
on  such  a  bottom,  the  company  failed  to  fulfill  its  mission.  One  feature 
in  the  charter  of  this  company  is  to  be  noted.  It  was  forbidden  to 
erect  bridges  at  the  crossings  of  the  large  rivers  and  was  only  to  be 
allowed  to  maintain  the  long-established  ferries.  Under  authority  of 
an  act  passed  in  1790  bridges  had  been  built  across  the  Passaic  and 

[41] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


Hackensack,  at  another  location,  by  certain  parties  who  claimed  for 
their  charter  an  interpretation  by  which  they  were  given  exclusive  rights 
to  bridge  those  streams.  For  many  years  they  maintained  their  posi- 
tion, but  the  courts  finally  decided  the  matter  more  consistently  with  the 
public  interests. 

This  highway  entered  upon  its  plank-road  era  soon  after  the  in- 
corporation of  the  Newark  Plank  Road  and  Ferry  Company  in  1849. 
This  company  was  allowed  to  take  over  the  old  road  and  rebuild  it 
with  a  planked  surface  not  less  than  twenty-four  nor  more  than  sixty 
feet  wide,  using  the  old  ferries  for  passage  over  the  rivers.  Evidently 
the  lack  of  modern  means  of  crossing  the  waters  proved  too  much  of 
a  handicap,  for  in  1852  the  company  secured  authority  to  build  a  bridge 
over  the  Hackensack  on  line  of  the  "  plank  road  to  be  made."  This 
proved  sufficient  bait  for  capital  and  the  road  was  completed,  and, 
three  years  later,  permission  to  bridge  the  Passaic  was  granted.  The 
travel  must  have  been  very  heavy  between  Newark  and  Jersey  City 
at  this  time  to  give  encouragement  for  so  much  work,  when  there  were 
already  in  existence  two  turnpikes  between  the  same  places,  of  which  one 
at  least  was  provided  with  suitable  bridges.  The  Gazetteer  of  New 
Jersey,  published  in  1834,  records  a  steamboat  twice  a  day  from  Newark 
to  New  York,  averaging  seventy-five  passengers  a  trip,  and  two  lines 
of  stages,  "  almost  hourly,"  carrying  about  eight  hundred  passengers 
a  week.  Across  the  Hudson  two  steamboats  plied  at  fifteen-minute 
intervals  from  New  York  to  Jersey  City. 

Under  authority,  granted  in  1859,  to  replace  its  planks  with  a  gravel 
roadway,  the  company  rebuilt  all  of  its  road  except  the  two  miles  be- 
tween the  two  rivers,  which  section  remained  a  plank  road  until  its 
final  reconstruction  in  191 2.  In  191 1  this  road  was  said  to  be  the  most 
heavily  traveled  in  the  country,  on  account  of  the  large  exports  of 
manufactured  goods  which  centered  at  the  Jersey  City  docks.  A  traffic 
census  taken  at  that  time  showed  an  average  of  two  thousand  seven 
hundred  vehicles  a  day,  the  average  weight  being  estimated  at  three 
and  a  half  tons  each.  Many  large  pieces  of  heavy  machinery,  loads  of 
castings,  oilcloth,  linoleum,  and  beer  in  kegs,  products  of  Newark's 
industries,  passed  over  the  planks  with  such  destructive  effect  that  a 
permanent  force  of  fifty  men  was  maintained  to  make  repairs.  The 
average  life  of  a  plank  was  only  sixty  days,  and  the  annual  expense  of 
renewals  was  about  ten  thousand  dollars  a  mile. 

The  planked  section  was  rebuilt  in  19 10— 12  with  two  twenty-nine- 
foot  roadways,  two  ten-foot  sidewalks,  and  a  twenty-two-foot  reserva- 
tion for  a  double-track  electric-car  line.  A  heavy  fill  was  laid  to  a 
grade  eight  feet  above  the  marsh  level,  and  the  roadways  were  paved, 
one  with  granite  blocks,  as  it  had  to  carry  a  heavier  tonnage  than  the 
other,  and  the  contra-bound,  with  creosoted  wood  blocks.1 

In  Massachusetts  the  Plum  Island  Turnpike  was  at  one  time  laid 

1  Engineering  Record,  Volume  65,  page  182. 
[42] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

with  plank.  One  corporation  was  formed  in  New  Hampshire  to  build 
a  plank  road,  but  no  reason  has  been  found  to  believe  that  its  purpose 
ever  was  realized.  Vermont  created  fourteen  companies,  and  Con- 
necticut, during  the  years  1851,  1852,  and  1853,  granted  incorporation 
to  seven  companies  for  that  purpose. 

Plank  roads  were  particularly  well  adapted  to  the  needs  of  regions 
possessing  rich  soils  with  a  deficiency  of  gravel,  and  they  are  still  found 
to  be  economical  in  the  Central  States.  There  the  planked  surface  will 
be  frequently  met,  but  the  tollgate  has  now  become  a  part  of  the  un- 
regretted  past. 


THE   VEHICLES   THAT   USED   THE   TURNPIKES 

Although  some  form  of  wagon  or  cart  was  in  use  in  very  early  days, 
no  marked  improvement  in  its  form  or  construction  was  effected  until 
the  day  of  the  turnpike,  when  a  greater  demand  for  wheeled  convey- 
ances arose. 

The  earliest  form  of  vehicle  of  which  we  have  evidence  is  the  sledge, 
which  is  pictured  in  ancient  Egyptian  sculpture  found  in  the  Temple 
of  Luxor  in  Thebes.  This  crude  form  of  conveyance  consisted  merely 
of  two  long  runners  slightly  turned  up  in  front,  to  which  were  attached 
several  crosspieces  on  which  the  load  was  carried.  As  practically  no 
region  possessed  any  roads  worthy  of  the  name,  it  was  in  the  countries 
of  flat  wastes  and  level  plains,  such  as  Egypt  and  Philistia,  that  the 
earliest  form  of  wheeled  cart  was  seen,  a  form  that  is  said  to  be  still 
in  use  in  parts  of  Chili. 

Wheeled  vehicles  are  frequently  mentioned  in  the  Bible  under  vari- 
ous names,  which  do  not  necessarily  indicate  as  many  forms.  We  are 
told  that  Jacob's  family  was  sent  to  him  in  a  wagon,  and  again  we  learn 
that  Joseph  had  the  distinction  of  riding  in  Pharaoh's  second  chariot. 
Pharaoh  had  many  war  chariots,  and  such  weapons  were  very  numerous 
in  a  battle  fought  about  1500  b.  c. 

Some  wheels,  very  much  like  our  modern  ones,  were  dug  out  of  the 
ruins  of  Pompeii,  and  some  wall  decorations  uncovered  there  pictured 
a  wheeled  vehicle  which  looked  like  the  modern  conveyance  on  which 
dishes  are  conveyed  in  dining  rooms.  But  under  the  Romans  the  de- 
velopment of  carriages  was  almost  entirely  confined  to  war  chariots, 
and  it  was  many  centuries  before  any  industrial  use  was  made  of  wheels 
or  pleasure  derived  by  their  means. 

Gradually,  however,  between  the  twelfth  and  fifteenth  centuries, 
several  forms  of  crude  carriages  and  coaches  appeared,  all  supported 
on  the  axles,  until  about  the  year  1600,  when  the  idea  of  slinging  the 
body  between  the  axles  by  means  of  leather  straps  was  advanced.  Such 
an  acme  of  comfort  and  ease  was  good  enough  for  the  travelers  of  the 
next  hundred  years,  and  it  was  not  until  about  1700  that  the  advantage 

[43] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

of  steel  springs  began  to  be  utilized.  But  it  cannot  be  imagined  that 
at  that  early  date  steel  springs  could  be  produced  cheaply  enough  for 
general  use,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  any  were  used  by  those  of  other  than 
royal  blood  for  the  next  seventy-five  years.  The  springs  were  not  of 
the  style  to  which  we  are  now  accustomed,  but  were  upright  bars 
mounted  rigidly  on  each  axle  at  the  base  and  inclining  slightly  inward. 
From  the  top  of  the  forward  to  the  upper  end  of  the  backward  spring 
leather  straps  extended  in  which  the  body  of  the  vehicle  was  hung,  thus 
deriving  easy  motion  from  the  bending  tendency  of  the  steel  members. 

But  that  such  springs  were  either  unsatisfactory  or  that  the  cost  was 
prohibitive  is  plainly  to  be  seen  from  the  fact  that  litters  in  which 
horses'  bodies  took  the  place  of  wheels  continued  in  popular  and  fashion- 
able use  until  the  middle  of  the  eighteenth  century. 

In  "  Coaches  and  Carriages,"  by  Ralph  Straus,  we  read  that  stage- 
coaches first  appeared  on  English  roads  about  1640,  and  that  twenty- 
two  years  later  there  were  less  than  a  dozen  in  operation.  But  even 
that  limited  service  had  called  forth  denunciations  from  some  who  fore- 
saw ruin  to  the  nation  on  account  of  the  ease  with  which  "  simple  country 
wives  "  could  visit  London  and  there  acquire  habits  of  indolence  and 
vice.  Stages  increased  more  in  numbers  than  in  quality,  and  by  1734 
there  was  a  considerable  business  being  done  over  a  large  part  of  the 
kingdom.  Sir  Walter  Scott  has  left  us  a  description  of  the  coaches  of 
that  date.     It  reads: 

They  were  "  constructed  principally  of  a  dull  black  leather  thickly  studded  by 
way  of  ornament  with  black  headed  nails  tracing  out  the  panels  in  the  upper  tier  of 
which  were  four  oval  windows  with  heavy  red  wooden  frames  and  green  stuff  or 
leathern  curtains.  Upon  the  doors  also  there  appeared  but  little  of  that  gay  blazonry 
which  shines  upon  the  numerous  quadrigae  of  the  present  time ;  but  there  were  dis- 
played in  large  characters  the  names  of  the  places  whence  the  coach  started  and 
whither  it  went,  stated  in  quaint  and  ancient  language.  The  vehicles  themselves 
varied  in  shape.  Sometimes  they  were  like  a  distiller's  vat ;  sometimes  flattened  and 
hung  equally  balanced  between  the  immense  front  and  back  springs;  in  other  in- 
stances they  resembled  a  violoncello  case  which  was  past  all  comparison  the  most 
fashionable  form;  and  they  hung  in  a  more  genteel  posture,  namely  inclining  onto 
the  back  springs  and  giving  to  those  who  sat  within  the  appearance  of  a  stiff  Guy 
Faux  uneasily  seated.  The  roofs  of  the  coaches  in  most  cases,  rose  into  a  swelling 
curve  which  was  sometimes  surrounded  by  a  high  iron  guard. 

Behind  the  coach  was  the  immense  basket  stretching  far  and  wide  behind  the 
body  to  which  it  was  attached  by  long  iron  bars  or  supports  passing  beneath  it; 
though  even  these  seemed  scarcely  equal  to  the  enormous  weight  with  which  they 
were  frequently  loaded. 

The  post  chaises,  of  which  we  read  so  much  in  English  literature, 
appeared  in  England  in  1743  after  they  had  been  in  use  in  France  for 
over  eighty  years.  At  first  they  were  two-wheeled  affairs  with  a  door 
in  front,  which  was  hinged  at  the  bottom  and  fell  forward  on  a  small 
dasher.  The  wheels  were  lofty  and  the  body  was  in  front  of  them, 
supported  on  the  long  shafts,  suspended  at  first  in  leather  braces  but 
later  from  upright  springs.     By   1753  the  bodies  had  been  enlarged 

[44] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   NEW    ENGLAND 

to  more  resemblance  of  a  coach,  having  a  high  coachman's  box,  while 
the  running  gear  had  been  enlarged  to  four  wheels. 

The  turnpike  era  was  preceded  in  England  by  the  "  War  of  the 
Wheels  "  in  the  early  seventeen  hundreds.  The  wear  of  the  surface  of 
the  poor  roads  of  that  time  had  become  so  serious  and  the  expense  of 
repairs  so  heavy  that  efforts  were  made  to  compel  the  wagoners  to  use 
wheels  with  rims  wide  enough  to  practically  form  road  rollers.  A  few 
acts  of  Parliament  were  passed  requiring  an  excessive  width  of  rim  and 
that  the  rear  wheels  should  not  follow  in  the  track  of  those  forward, 
but  it  was  soon  recognized  that  such  demands  obliged  the  carrier  to 
carry  an  excessive  weight  and  to  perform  physical  labor  far  in  excess 
of  that  required  to  move  his  loads.  It  was  next  sought  to  solve  the 
difficulty  by  means  of  turnpikes. 

An  old  coach  builder,  William  Felton,  wrote  his  reminiscences  in 
1790  and  said: 

In  the  year  1790  the  art  of  coach  building  had  been  in  a  gradual  state  of  im- 
provement for  half  a  century-  past  and  had  now  arrived  at  a  very  high  degree  of 
perfection  with  respect  to  the  beauty,  strength,  and  elegance  of  our  English  carriages. 

The  half-century  which  Mr.  Felton  noted  covers  the  period  of  early 
turnpike  development  in  England,  and  the  date  1790  is  interesting  as 
the  opening  of  the  turnpike  era  in  America.  So  the  improvements  due 
to  turnpikes  in  England  bring  us  to  the  vehicles  which  were  available 
for  importation  and  copying  in  America  when  the  turnpikes  of  this 
country  called  for  better  means  of  transportation  over  them. 

Chauncey  Thomas  has  written *  that  the  volume  of  business  done  by 
American  carriage  manufacturers  in  1795  was  exceedingly  small. 
Technical  knowledge  was  not  wanting,  for  there  were  many  shops  which 
had  been  established  in  colonial  days  where  fine  carriages  were  occa- 
sionally built  and  many  imported  vehicles  repaired.  But  business 
languished  for  lack  of  customers.  The  hard  times  which  followed  the 
Revolution  made  simplicity  a  virtue,  and  the  luxury  of  a  carriage  was 
not  suited  to  the  democratic  habits  which  then  prevailed.  All  parts 
of  the  largest  towns  were  within  walking  distance  of  each  other,  and 
there  was  but  little  occasion  to  visit  neighboring  places. 

But  as  the  country  grew  prosperous  a  demand  arose  for  vehicles  for 
business,  pleasure,  and  travel,  and  several  varieties  developed.  Among 
them  the  principal  were  the  chaise,  curricle,  chair,  chariot,  phaeton, 
whisky  or  gig,  coach,  landau,  and  many  types  of  wagons  and  carts 
for  working  purposes. 

The  chaise  was  early  in  great  demand,  and  down  to  1840  it  seemed 
that  nothing  could  ever  supplant  it  in  popular  favor.  The  earlier  forms 
had  enormously  high  wheels  and  the  tops  were  stationary,  being  sup- 
ported on  iron  posts.  Curtains  of  painted  canvas  or  leather  covered 
the  sides  and  back,  and  the  vehicle  was  often  unprovided  with  dasher 
]  "American  Carriage  and  Wagon  Works,"  in  "One  Hundred  Years  of  American  Commerce." 

[45] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

or  apron.  In  later  years  they  were  provided  with  folding  tops  which, 
with  the  dasher  and  cushioned  seats,  made  it  a  carriage  of  luxury. 
The  accompanying  illustration  clearly  shows  the  details  of  such  a  car- 
riage. The  one  pictured,  now  in  the  Fairbanks  Museum  of  Natural 
Science  in  St.  Johnsbury,  Vermont,  was  long  in  service  in  and  around 
Providence,  carrying  the  well-known  Doctor  Brown  on  his  visits. 

The  curricle  was  an  ancient  form  of  vehicle,  having  been  in  use  in 
Italy  for  many  years,  where  it  was  suspended  on  leather  braces.  Springs 
were  added  by  the  French,  and  the  English  altered  the  shape,  giving 
the  back  a  graceful  ogee  curve,  improving  the  hood,  and  adding  a  spring 
bar  across  the  horses'  backs.  It  was  a  vehicle  of  easy  draft  and  could 
be  driven  at  great  speed,  but  it  was  rather  dangerous  if  the  horse  shied 
or  stumbled.  In  Europe  the  horses  were  usually  attached  in  a  span,  but 
in  America  they  were  driven  tandem.  It  seems  to  have  been  an  equipage 
of  less  luxury  than  a  chaise,  although  generally  closely  resembling  one. 
In  the  toll  rates  the  curricle  was  commonly  allowed  to  pass  for  a  smaller 
sum.     The  curricle  was  drawn  by  two  horses,  the  chaise  by  one. 

The  chair,  commonly  pronounced  "  cheer,"  was  the  only  traveling 
vehicle  seen  in  the  rural  regions  in  1800,  according  to  Stratton  in  "  The 
World  on  Wheels,"  and  the  cost  of  one  was  no  inconsiderable  sum.  It 
was  hung  upon  springs  made  of  wood,  generally  with  rude  bow  or 
standing-tops  of  round  iron,  hung  around  with  painted  cloth  curtains. 
The  linings  and  cushions  stuffed  with  "  swingling-tow,"  sometimes  with 
salt  hay,  were,  in  those  primitive  times  of  simplicity  and  innocence, 
deemed  good  enough  for  any  American  sovereign. 

The  chariot  was  really  half  a  coach,  having  only  one  seat,  while 
the  coach  had  two.  Each  was  hung  high  above  the  ground  in  order  to 
clear  the  heavy  wooden  timbers  which  connected  the  two  axles,  which 
were  far  apart  on  account  of  the  large  size  of  the  wheels.  The  bodies 
were  inclosed  and  were  hung  by  leather  braces  from  scroll-shaped  steel 
springs  which  inclined  upward  at  an  angle  of  about  fifteen  degrees 
from  the  perpendicular.  The  rear  spring  was  called  a  "  whip  spring  " 
and  the  front  an  "  elbow  spring." 

Of  phaetons  there  were  many  varieties,  none  of  which  were  driven 
by  coachmen.  Young  England  in  those  days  delighted  in  very  lofty 
phaetons  and  fast  driving.  The  style  continued  to  develop  until  it 
culminated  in  an  excessively  high  type  which  the  witty  Irish  dubbed 
a  "  suicide."  These  were  four-wheeled  carriages.  The  one-horse 
phaeton  had  the  body  over  the  hind  axle,  where  it  was  hung  on  grass- 
hopper springs  which  were  bolted  to  the  axle  and  connected  with 
the  body  by  scroll  irons.  The  body  was  joined  to  the  front  wheels, 
where  there  were  no  springs,  by  wooden  stays,  which  were  slightly 
goosenecked  to  allow  the  front  wheels  to  cut-under.  Naturally  with  all 
that  space  between  the  axles,  and  with  the  body  set  back  far  enough  to 
clear  the  turning  of  the  front  wheels,  the  horse  was  a  considerable  dis- 
tance in  advance  of  its  driver. 
[46] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

The  whisky,  or  gig,  has  been  perpetuated  in  the  gig  or  racing  sulky 
of  the  present  day. 

The  landau  was  an  improved  form  of  coach  in  which  the  roof 
parted  in  the  middle  and  folded  back  each  way  to  an  angle  of  forty- 
five  degrees,  making  a  more  agreeable  carriage  for  pleasant  weather. 

Of  the  vehicles  in  use  in  1790  Thrupp  says  in  his  "  History  of 
Coaches,"  that  the  woodwork  was  heavier  and  the  ironwork  lighter 
than  in  later  days.  The  iron  frequently  broke  both  on  account  of  its 
insufficient  proportions  and  its  poor  quality,  but  the  axles  being  more 
carefully  made  gave  little  trouble.  The  wheels  were  very  high  and 
appeared  light.  The  extreme  height  was  five  feet  and  eight  inches, 
which  size  was  made  with  fourteen  spokes,  and  the  smallest  size,  three 
feet  and  six  inches,  had  eight.  All  bodies  hung  high  in  order  to  clear 
the  perch,  which  was  the  name  given  to  the  heavy  connection  between 
the  two  axles.  The  larger  wheeled  vehicles  were  hung  upon  framed 
carriages  which  supported  the  upright  springs. 

In  1804  Obadiah  Elliot  invented  the  elliptic  spring  which,  with  the 
reduction  in  the  size  of  the  wheels,  brought  the  bodies  much  nearer 
the  ground.  This  was  the  most  pronounced  advance  which  had  been 
made  in  carriage  development. 

In  the  early  years  of  the  century  business  in  the  old  carriage  towns 
was  done  on  what  was  called  the  "  dicker  "  system,  wrote  Thomas. 
Woodworkers,  blacksmiths,  trimmers,  and  painters  each  did  business 
on  his  own  account  and  swapped  parts,  as  they  termed  it,  the  final  settle- 
ments being  made  in  finished  carriages.  The  dealer  in  materials  also 
took  carriages  in  payment.  The  workmen  were  paid  in  orders  for 
goods,  and  money  was  almost  unknown.  The  old  operators  used  to  say 
that  this  plan  was  much  safer  than  the  cash  system,  there  being  fewer 
failures  and  less  danger  of  getting  involved  in  debt.  But  those  old 
customs  had  their  day,  and  gradually  the  business  became  concentrated, 
until  now  we  have  the  enormous  factories  with  their  constant  outpouring 
of  finished  products. 

The  romantic  interest  of  the  old  turnpikes  centers  about  the  stage- 
coaches, and  of  them  we  have  several  accounts,  of  which  we  will  repeat 
the  three  quoted  by  Professor  Kittredge  in  "  The  Old  Farmer  and  his 
Almanack." 

The  first  is  from  the  pen  of  Thomas  Twining  and  refers  to  his  jour- 
ney from  Philadelphia  to  Baltimore  in  1795: 

The  vehicle  was  a  long  car  with  four  benches.  Three  of  these  in  the  interior 
held  nine  passengers,  and  a  tenth  passenger  was  seated  by  the  side  of  the  driver  on 
the  front  bench.  A  light  roof  was  supported  by  eight  slender  pillars,  four  on  each 
side.  Three  large  leather  curtains  suspended  to  the  roof,  one  at  each  side  and  one 
behind,  were  rolled  up  or  lowered  at  the  pleasure  of  the  passengers.  There  was  no 
space  nor  place  for  luggage,  each  person  being  expected  to  stow  his  things  as  he  could  ■ 
under  his  seat  or  legs.  The  entrance  was  in  front,  over  the  driver's  bench.  Of 
course  the  three  passengers  on  the  back  seat  were  obliged  to  crawl  across  all  the 
other  benches  to  get  to  their  places.    There  were  no  backs  to  the  benches  to  support 

[47] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

and  relieve  us  during  a  rough  and  fatiguing  journey  over  a  newly  and  ill-made  road. 
It  would  be  unreasonable  to  expect  perfection  in  the  arrangements  of  a  new  country ; 
but  though  this  rude  conveyance  was  not  without  its  advantages,  and  was  really 
more  suitable  to  the  existing  state  of  American  roads  than  an  English  stage  coach 
would  have  been,  it  might  have  been  rendered  more  convenient  in  some  respects 
without  much  additional  expense.  Thus  a  mere  strap  behind  the  seats  would  have 
been  a  great  comfort,  and  the  ponderous  leather  curtains,  which  extended  the  whole 
length  of  the  wagon,  would  have  been  much  more  convenient  divided  into  two  or 
three  parts,  and  with  a  glass,  however  small,  in  each  division  to  give  light  to  the  pas- 
sengers in  bad  weather,  and  enable  them  to  have  a  glimpse  of  the  country.  The  dis- 
posal of  the  luggage  also  was  extremely  incommodious,  not  only  to  the  owner  but  to 
his  neighbors.    We  were  quite  full,  having  ten  passengers  besides  the  driver.1 

The  second  example  is  from  Melish's  "  Travels,"  and  has  to  do  with 
intercourse  between  Boston  and  New  York  in  1806: 

The  mail  stages  here  are  altogether  different  in  construction  from  the  mail 
coaches  in  Britain.  They  are  long  machines,  hung  upon  leather  braces,  with  three 
seats  across,  of  a  sufficient  length  to  accommodate  three  persons  each,  who  all  sit 
with  their  faces  towards  the  horses.  The  driver  sits  under  cover,  without  any 
division  between  him  and  the  passengers;  and  there  is  room  for  a  person  to  sit  on 
each  side  of  him.  The  driver,  by  the  post-office  regulations,  must  be  a  white  man, 
and  he  has  the  charge  of  the  mail,  which  is  placed  in  a  box  below  his  seat.  There  is 
no  guard.  The  passengers'  luggage  is  put  below  the  seats,  or  tied  on  behind  the 
stage.  They  put  nothing  on  the  top,  and  they  take  no  outside  passengers.  The 
stages  are  slightly  built,  and  the  roof  suspended  on  pillars;  with  a  curtain,  to  be  let 
down  or  folded  up  at  pleasure.  The  conveyance  is  easy,  and  in  summer  very  agree- 
able ;  but  it  must  be  excessively  cold  in  winter.2 

For  our  third  description  we  are  indebted  to  Abdy,  the  Oxonian,  who 
is  telling  what  happened  to  him  in  New  England  in  1833  : 

An  English  coachman  would  have  been  somewhat  amused  with  the  appearance 
of  the  stage  and  the  costume  of  the  driver.  The  former  was  similar  to  some  that  are 
common  enough  in  France,  though  not  known  on  our  side  of  the  channel.  It  was 
on  leathern  springs;  the  boot  and  the  hind  part  being  appropriated  to  the  luggage, 
while  the  box  was  occupied  by  two  passengers  in  addition  to  the  "  conducteur,"  and 
as  many  on  the  roof.  On  the  top,  secured  by  an  iron  rail,  were  some  of  the  trunks 
and  boxes,  and  inside  were  places  for  nine;  two  seats  being  affixed  to  the  ends,  and 
one,  parallel  to  them,  across  the  middle  of  the  carriage.  Our  driver  sat  between 
two  of  the  outsides,  and  when  there  was  but  one  on  the  box,  over  the  near  wheeler; 
and  holding  the  reins,  or  lines,  as  he  called  them,  in  such  a  manner  as  to  separate  his 
team  into  couples,  not  a-breast,  but  in  a  line  or  tandem  fashion,  drove  along  with 
considerable  skill  and  dexterity.  When  he  got  down,  he  fastened  the  ribbons  to  a 
ring  or  a  post  in  front  of  the  house  where  he  had  occasion  to  pull  up.3 

The  primitive  form  of  stage  described  as  in  use  in  1806  was  soon 
superseded  by  the  egg-shaped  coach,  which  is  the  form  commonly  pic- 
tured on  the  old  stage-coach  bills.  In  this  type  the  body  was  hung  in 
leather  braces  high  above  the  ground  in  order  to  clear  the  connection 
between  the  front  pin  and  the  rear  axle,  which  was  high  on  account  of 

1  "Travels  in  America  One  Hundred  Years  Ago,  being  Notes  and  Reminiscences  by  Thomas 
Twining." 

2  "Travels  in  the  United  States  of  America,"  John  Melish. 

3  "Journal  of  a  Residence  and  Tour  in  the  United  States  from  April,  1833,  to  October,  1834," 
E.  S.  Abdy. 

[48] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

the  large  size  of  the  wheels.  There  were  three  seats  inside,  as  described 
by  Abdy,  with  a  seat  and  footboard  in  front  on  the  outside.  The  base 
of  the  body  and  the  roof  curved  symmetrically  forming  an  oval  from 
which  the  resemblance  to  an  egg  was  fancied,  while  the  boot  for  bag- 
gage on  the  rear  was  inclosed  by  curtains  which  made  a  tangent  to  the 
roof  curve  and  fell  behind  the  rear  wheels.  Such  were  the  stages  during 
the  teens  and  twenties  of  the  nineteenth  century.  With  the  easy  en- 
trance and  exit  by  means  of  a  side  door,  the  easy  motion  due  to  the 
leather  hangers,  and  the  three  large  windows  by  which  the  entire  upper 
half  of  the  side  was  open  to  daylight,  such  a  vehicle  must  have  seemed 
the  climax  of  luxurious  traveling  to  those  who  had  been  accustomed 
to  the  crude  "  machines  "  described  by  Melish. 

The  well-known  Concord  coach  was  introduced  about  1828  by  Lewis 
Downing  who,  about  fifteen  years  earlier,  had  founded  the  now  well- 
known  house  of  Abbot,  Downing,  and  Company  in  Concord,  New 
Hampshire.  It  seems  that  the  full  measure  of  success  was  attained  in 
the  design  of  these  coaches,  for  hardly  an  improvement  has  been  made 
in  them  since  their  first  appearance,  and  those  in  use  to-day  are  prac- 
tically built  on  the  same  lines  as  were  those  of  ninety  years  ago.  The 
Concord  coach  at  once  leaped  into  popularity  both  on  account  of  its 
excellence  in  workmanship  and  from  its  ease  in  riding  and,  wherever 
such  vehicles  are  needed  to-day,  may  be  found  still  in  service.  They 
are  too  well  known  to  need  describing.  In  the  construction  of  our  first 
railroad  cars  the  builders  could  think  of  nothing  better,  and  Concord 
coach  bodies,  mounted  on  railway  trucks,  followed  the  first  locomotive 
over  the  Mohawk  and  Hudson  Railroad  in  1831. 

We  show  here  a  picture  of  a  wagon  made  by  Thaddeus  Fairbanks, 
the  inventor  of  the  Fairbanks  scales,  when  he  was  about  twenty  years 
of  age.  This  wagon  doubtless  traveled  many  miles  over  the  Passumpsic 
and  Danville  turnpikes  which  led  from  St.  Johnsbury,  Vermont,  and 
may  safely  be  taken  for  a  type  of  the  wagons  in  use  at  that  time.  No 
attempt  was  made  to  provide  springs  for  the  body  of  the  vehicle,  but  by 
mounting  the  seat  on  the  end  of  wooden  bows  comfort  for  the  passen- 
gers was  sought. 

Various  forms  of  sleds  and  sleighs  were  in  use,  although  it  was  an 
old  saying  that  there  was  never  any  snow  on  a  turnpike.  The  sleighs 
were  of  the  pattern  still  to  be  found  in  northern  New  England  and  called 
"  board  runners  "  on  account  of  a  single  piece  of  board  being  used  for 
the  runner,  the  same  being  shaped  to  a  suitable  form  for  running  over 
the  road.  Probably  all  such  sleighs  and  the  sleds,  too,  were  homemade 
or  of  local  manufacture,  as  they  could  easily  be  made  by  one  familiar 
with  carpenter's  tools. 

Further  romantic  interest  is  found  in  the  old  wagons  in  which  the 
large  shipments  of  freight  were  carried,  and  all  accounts  of  the  Cumber- 
land Road  or  of  any  of  the  turnpikes  leading  to  the  west,  teem  with 
references  to  the  white-topped  wagons  with  their  strings  of  horses. 

[49] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

These  splendid  wagons  were  developed  in  Pennsylvania  by  topo- 
graphical conditions,  by  the  soft  soil,  by  trade  requirements,  and  by 
native  wit.  They  were  the  highest  type  of  a  commodious  freight  carrier 
by  horsepower  that  this  or  any  other  country  has  ever  known;  they 
were  known  as  Conestoga  wagons  from  the  vicinity  in  which  they  were 
first  in  common  use,  as  is  told  by  Alice  Morse  Earle  in  "  Stage  Coach 
and  Tavern  Days." 

These  wagons  had  a  boat-shaped  body  with  a  curved  bottom,  which 
fitted  them  specially  for  mountain  use,  for  in  them  freight  remained 
firmly  in  place  at  whatever  angle  the  body  might  be.  The  rear  end 
could  be  lifted  from  the  sockets;  on  it  hung  the  feed  trough  for  the 
horses.  On  one  side  of  the  body  was  a  small  tool  chest  with  a  slanting 
lid.  This  held  hammer,  wrench,  hatchet,  pincers,  and  other  simple  tools. 
Under  the  rear  axle-tree  were  suspended  a  tar  bucket  and  water  pail. 
The  wheels  had  tires  sometimes  a  foot  broad.  The  wagon  bodies  were 
arched  over  with  six  or  eight  bows,  of  which  the  middle  ones  were  the 
lowest.  These  were  covered  with  a  strong,  pure  white  hempen  cover 
corded  down  strongly  at  the  sides  and  ends.  These  wagons  could  be 
loaded  up  to  the  top  of  the  bows,  which  was  the  object  attained  by 
having  them  high  at  the  ends.  Four  to  six  tons  was  the  usual  load  for 
such  a  vehicle. 

The  driver  rode  on  the  nigh-wheel  horse  or  walked,  no  seat  being 
provided  for  him.  A  board  projecting  from  the  side  between  the  wheels 
afforded  a  precarious  seat  for  the  helper,  who  generally  worked  his  way 
by  such  employment. 

In  1783  Levi  Pease,  in  company  with  Joseph  Sykes,  established  a 
stage  line  between  Boston  and  New  York  over  the  rough  and  crooked 
roads  which  then  constituted  the  northern  route,  passing  through 
Worcester,  Palmer,  and  Hartford,  and  making  the  trip  in  a  week.  In 
later  years  Josiah  Quincy  described  his  experiences  on  a  journey  over 
the  line  in  1784  as  follows: 

I  set  out  from  Boston  on  the  line  of  stage  lately  established  by  an  enterprising 
Yankee,  Pease  by  name,  which  at  that  day  was  considered  a  method  of  transporta- 
tion of  wonderful  expedition.  The  journey  to  New  York  took  up  a  week.  The 
carriages  were  old  and  shackling  and  much  of  the  harness  was  made  of  ropes.  One 
pair  of  horses  carried  the  stage  eighteen  miles.  We  generally  reached  our  resting 
place  for  the  night,  if  no  accident  intervened,  at  ten  o'clock  and  after  a  frugal  sup- 
per went  to  bed  with  a  notice  that  we  should  be  called  at  three  the  next  morning, 
which  generally  proved  to  be  half  past  two.  Then,  whether  it  snowed  or  rained, 
the  traveller  must  rise  and  make  ready  by  the  help  of  a  horn  lantern  and  a  farthing 
candle,  and  proceed  on  his  way  over  bad  roads,  sometimes  with  a  driver  showing  no 
doubtful  symptoms  of  drunkenness,  which  good-hearted  passengers  never  fail  to 
improve  at  every  stopping  place  by  urging  upon  him  another  glass  of  toddy.  Thus 
we  travelled  eighteen  miles  a  stage,  sometimes  obliged  to  get  out  and  help  the  coach- 
man lift  the  coach  out  of  a  quagmire  or  rut,  and  arrived  at  New  York  after  a  week's 
hard  travelling,  wondering  at  the  ease  as  well  as  the  expedition  of  our  journey.1 

1  As  Josiah  Quincy  was  but  twelve  years  old  in  1784,  it  is  possible  that  this  was  written  by  some 
other  traveler,  but  the  account  is  creditable. 

[50] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

We  have  already  noted  the  starting  of  a  stage  line  over  the  same  route 
in  1772,  but  it  did  not  continue  long.  After  Pease's  effort  continuous 
service  between  Boston  and  New  York  was  maintained  by  increasing 
numbers  of  coaches  and  then  by  trains. 

Prior  to  1806  such  stages  journeyed  over  two  hundred  and  fifty-four 
miles  of  roads,  the  distance  being  reduced  by  road  improvements  in 
that  year  to  two  hundred  and  forty-six  miles,  and  by  1821  a  total  re- 
duction of  forty-four  miles  had  been  made,  leaving  two  hundred  and 
ten  miles  to  be  covered  between  Boston  and  New  York.  Such  savings 
in  mileage  were  the  prime  objects  sought  by  turnpike  construction,  but 
it  was  too  often  attained  at  the  expense  of  steep  grades  over  hills  which 
lay  in  the  direct  line.  Still  stage  routes  increased  with  the  development 
of  turnpikes  and,  as  a  rule,  followed  them  over  the  hills. 

One  feature  of  the  Old  Farmer's  Almanac  was  the  publication  of  a 
list  of  the  stages  running  from  Boston,  and  from  the  issue  of  1801 
we  note  that  one  hundred  and  sixteen  coaches  arrived  at  and  departed 
from  that  town  weekly,  there  being  twenty-six  separate  lines  to  as  many 
places.  Pease's  stage  by  that  time  had  two  rivals,  one  going  by  way  of 
Providence,  and  the  running  time  had  been  reduced  to  thirty-nine  hours, 
due  doubtless  to  running  all  night  instead  of  stopping  for  sleep  at 
taverns  by  the  way.  These  lines  ran  three  times  each  week.  There 
were  two  daily  stages  to  Providence  and  the  trip  was  made  in  eight 
hours.  The  service  to  Portsmouth  had  been  improved  from  the  weekly 
two-day  trip  in  1761  to  a  fifteen-hour  journey  three  times  a  week,  and 
a  new  route  to  Albany  ran  through  Worcester,  Brookfield,  and  North- 
ampton twice  a  week,  making  the  trip  in  thirty-eight  hours.  All  this 
was  before  the  turnpikes  had  become  factors  of  influence. 

When  the  Boston  Traveller  was  founded  by  Badger  and  Porter,  in 
1825,  its  issue  was  accompanied  once  in  every  two  months  by  a  supple- 
ment called  the  Stage  Register,  in  which  it  was  sought  to  give  a  com- 
plete list  of  all  the  stage  lines  in  New  England,  with  distances,  routes 
followed,  and  rates  of  fare.  The  issue  of  September  6,  1825,  shows 
sixty-eight  lines  leaving  Boston,  with  three  hundred  and  seventeen  stages 
in  and  out  each  week,  and  a  total  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  lines 
in  New  England.  From  Boston  there  were  seven  lines  to  Albany,  each 
running  three  times  a  week.  By  way  of  Greenfield  the  trip  was  made 
in  thirty-five  hours,  through  Northampton  in  forty-one,  with  the  same 
time  by  way  of  Springfield.  Another  route  was  through  Brattleboro 
and  Bennington,  and  forty-three  hours  were  occupied  on  that  journey. 
New  York  was  reached  by  way  of  Worcester,  Stafford,  Hartford,  and 
New  Haven  in  forty  hours,  while  the  traveler  who  staged  it  to  Norwich 
and  voyaged  thence  to  New  York  by  the  steamer  Fanny  spent  the  same 
length  of  time. 

Travelers  to  Bristol  Ferry  had  a  much  happier  time  than  in  1720, 
for  in  1825  the  route  was  through  Taunton,  and  the  required  time  had 
been  cut  down  from  thirty-one  to  eleven  hours.     The  Portsmouth  line 

[51] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


had  disappeared,  at  least  by  that  name,  and  those  desirous  of  going 
there  embarked  on  the  Pordand  stage.  That  took  nine  hours  to  reach 
Portsmouth,  gave  its  passengers  fifteen  hours  for  rest,  and  completed 
the  journey  in  nine  hours  more. 

Fares  from  Boston  were  as  follows : 


Albany,  N.  Y.  .    . 

U  ti 

Amesbury,  Mass.  . 

Beverly,   Mass. 

Brandon,  Vt.     .    . 

Bristol,  R.  I.    .    . 

Burlington,  Vt.     . 
ii  ii 

Cambridge,  Mass. 

Chelmsford,  Mass. 

Chester,  Vt.  .    .    . 

Concord,  Mass.    . 

Concord,  N.  H.     . 

Dover,  N.  H.   .    . 
«(  ii 

E.  Bridgewater,  Mass 
Exeter,  N.  H.  .  , 
Fitchburg,  Mass.  . 
Greenfield,  Mass. 
Groton,  Mass.  .  - 
Hartford,  Conn.  , 
Harvard,  Mass. 
Haverhill,  Mass. 


$8.75 
7-75 
2.25 
1. 00 

8.75 

3-50 

11.25 

12.00 

.25 

1.50 

5-75 
1. 00 
3-50 
3-oo 

3-25 
1.25 
2.25 
2.00 

3-75 
2.00 
5.50 
1.50 
1.50 


Dispatch  Line. 


Jaffrey,  N.  H.     .    . 
Lunenburg,  Mass.   . 
Middlebury,  Vt. 
Mt.  Holly,  Vt.    .    . 
New  Bedford,  Mass. 
Newburyport,  Mass. 
New  Haven,  Conn. 
New  Ipswich,  N.  H. 
New  York,  N.  V.  . 
Northampton,  Mass. 
Portland,   Maine 
Portsmouth,  N.  H. 
Providence,  R.  I.     . 


Dispatch  Line. 


Rutland,  Vt.  .  . 
Southbridge,  Mass 
South  Bridgewater 
Springfield,  Mass.  . 
Taunton,  Mass.  .  . 
Winchendon,  Mass. 
Windsor,  Vt.  .  .  . 
Worcester,  Mass.    . 


M 


$3-25 
1-75 
9-75 
6.75 
3-50 
2.00 
7.50 
2.50 

11.00 
4.50 
6.00 
3-oo 
2.00 
1.50 

7-75 
3-oo 
1,50 
4.50 
2.00 
2.75 
6.00 
2.00 


The  Eastern  Mail  Stage,  an  anticipation  of  the  modern  limited  train 
service,  carried  its  passengers  to  Portland  for  eight  dollars,  with  pro- 
portionate rates  for  way  stations,  requiring  but  eight  hours  to  reach 
Portsmouth. 

The  regular  time  of  departure  for  long-distance  stages  was  2  A.  M., 
which  was  the  hour  for  resuming  the  journey  from  resting  places  also. 

A  study  of  the  routes  followed  by  the  different  lines  of  stages  shows 
that  generally  the  turnpikes  were  followed,  but  it  is  seen  that  the  Cam- 
bridge and  Concord  and  the  Union  turnpikes  were  scrupulously  avoided. 
The  Union  was  not  badly  located,  but  it  suffered  from  its  associations, 
for  the  Cambridge  and  Concord  was  built  straight  without  regard  to 
centers  along  the  route,  and  in  one  case,  at  least,  with  a  fatal  disregard 
for  grades.  The  local  stage  from  Concord  could  not  afford  to  spurn 
the  business  of  Lexington  and  West  Cambridge  (Arlington),  so  it  kept 
off  the  turnpike  and  went  over  the  public  roads.  And  the  stages  from 
the  northwestern  part  of  the  state,  reaching  the  western  end  of  the 
Union  Turnpike,  diverted  over  the  short  Lancaster  and  Bolton  Turn- 
pike and  proceeded  thence  to  Boston  over  the  "  Great  Road  "  through 
Sudbury  and  Waltham.  The  Union  and  the  Cambridge  and  Concord 
seem  to  have  had  little  other  business  either,  for  each  was  very  short- 
lived. 
[52] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   NEW   ENGLAND 


Between  1825  and  1832  the  number  of  stage  lines  in  New  England 
was  more  than  doubled,  there  being  two  hundred  and  sixty  separate 
routes  in  operation  in  the  latter  year,  with  a  proportionate  increase  in 
the  lines  from  Boston.  The  New  York  Mail  then  left  Boston  at 
10  P.  M.,  reaching  Worcester  at  3.30  A.  M. ;  Hartford  by  way  of  Staf- 
ford at  1.30  p^m.  ;  New  Haven  at  8.30  p.  M. ;  and  New  York  at  10  A.  M. 
the  second  day. 


T53] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF   MASSACHUSETTS 
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THE  TURNPIKES  OF  MASSACHUSETTS 

IN  Massachusetts  the  custom  was  almost  general,  in  providing  for 
turnpikes,  to  require  the  construction  of  an  entirely  new  road, 
although  there  were  some  notable  exceptions  in  which  the  corpo- 
ration was  allowed  to  take  over  an  old  established  highway  and  in- 
corporate the  same  as  a  part  of  its  toll  road.  The  English  custom  was 
never  followed  in  this  state,  but  each  turnpike  was  the  outcome  of 
financial  confidence  in  it  as  an  investment,  or  projected  for  the  collateral 
benefits  which  were  expected  to  follow.  Each  was  authorized  by 
a  special  act  of  the  legislature,  and  down  to  1805  each  act  of  incorpora- 
tion went  at  length  and  in  full  detail  into  all  phases  of  the  corporate 
formation,  and  the  same  was  repeated,  at  what  must  have  been  dreary 
length,  with  each  successive  company.  The  stereotyped  form  of  act 
was  about  as  follows: 

1 .  Certain  persons  incorporated  under  the  specified  name  "  for  the  purpose  of  lay- 

ing out  and  making  a  turnpike-road." 

2.  Course  of  the  road  described. 

3.  Width  of  the  same  specified. 

4.  Number  of  gates  to  be  erected  when  approved. 

5.  Rates  of  toll. 

6.  Exemptions  from  liability  for  toll. 
7-  Power  given  to  commute  tolls. 

8.  Sign  to  be  erected  displaying  rates  of  toll. 

9.  Right  to  take  land  conferred. 

10.  Penalties  provided  for  avoidance  of  toll. 

11.  Penalty  on  corporation  for  delaying  travelers  or  for  failure  to  keep  road  in 

repair. 

12.  Methods  of  procedure  in  organizing  corporation. 

13.  Required  filing  of  account  of  cost  of  road  and  annually  thereafter  a  statement 

of  receipts  and  disbursements. 

14.  Provided  that  the  corporation  might  be  dissolved  when  it  had  earned  its  orig- 

inal investment  plus  twelve  per  cent. 

15.  Charter  void  unless  road  was  completed  within  specified  time. 

In  1805  the  earliest  general  corporation  law  was  passed  in  Massa- 
chusetts. This  applied  only  to  turnpike  companies  and  provided  that 
thereafter  no  charter  should  be  granted  until  the  proposed  route  had 
been  viewed  by  a  legislative  committee  after  public  notice.  Previously 
each  route,  after  the  charter  had  issued,  had  been  laid  out  by  a  com- 
mittee, consisting  generally  of  one  senator  and  two  representatives 
specially  appointed  for  that  purpose;  but  after  1805  that  duty  devolved 
upon  five  disinterested  freeholders  appointed  by  the  court  of  sessions 

[57] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


for  the  county  in  which  the  road  was  to  be  built.  The  act  also  recited 
the  routine  portion  of  the  charters  previously  granted  and  provided  that 
future  charters  should  have  the  same  powers  without  repetition.  An 
additional  provision  was  made  that  any  corporation  might  be  dissolved 
at  the  pleasure  of  the  legislature,  after  twenty  years,  without  reference 
to  its  earnings. 

Upon  the  completion  of  a  road  application  would  be  made  to  the 
court  of  sessions  of  the  county  in  which  the  road  was  located  for  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  committee  to  view  the  new  turnpike,  and  advise  the 
court  whether  or  not  the  same  was  constructed  in  a  manner  sufficiently 
safe  for  public  travel.  Such  a  committee  was  usually  empowered  to 
specify  the  location  of  the  tollgates.  The  court  of  sessions,  having 
received  the  report  of  its  committee  that  the  road  was  well  built  and 
safe  for  travel,  would  then  declare  the  turnpike  open  for  public  use 
under  the  conditions  imposed  in  the  charter. 

A  great  difference  naturally  existed  in  the  earning  powers  of  roads 
in  different  parts  of  the  state,  and  it  would  manifestly  have  been  unfair 
to  allow  the  same  rates  of  toll  in  the  Berkshires  on  a  road  built  under 
engineering  difficulties  and  through  sparsely  settled  districts'  as  were 
granted  to  a  route  tributary  to  Boston  and  connecting  several  prosper- 
ous communities.  Hence  a  variety  of  authorized  charges  may  be  found 
by  detailed  search,  but  a  fair  average  can  be  given.  The  Massachu- 
setts custom  was  generally  to  allow  the  erection  of  tollgates  at  intervals 
of  about  ten  miles,  and  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  state  the  traveler 
would  be  apt  to  find  displayed  upon  a  signboard  at  each  gate,  in  accord- 
ance with  the  charter  requirement,  "  fairly  and  legibly  written  thereon 
in  large  or  capital  letters  "  the  following: 

Rates  of  Toll 

For  every  coach,   phaeton,   chariot,   or  other  four-wheeled   carriage 

drawn  by  two  horses 25  cents 

And  if  drawn  by  more  than  two  horses,  for  each  additional  horse    .    .  4  " 

For  every  curricle 17  " 

For  every  cart,  wagon,  sled,  or  sleigh  drawn  by  two  oxen  or  horses  .    .  10  " 

And  if  drawn  by  more  than  two,  for  each  horse  or  ox  in  addition    .    .  3  " 

For  every  chaise,  chair,  or  other  carriage  drawn  by  one  horse  ....  10  " 

For  every  sled  or  sleigh  drawn  by  one  horse 6  " 

For  every  man  and  horse 4  " 

For  all  oxen,  horses,  mules,  and  neat  cattle  led  or  driven  besides  those 

in  teams  and  carriages,  each 1  " 

For  all  sheep  and  swine  by  the  dozen 3  " 

Adjacent  to  the  New  York  line,  in  the  town  of  Hancock,  would  have 
been  found  a  signboard  on  which  the  rates  would  have  run  from  twenty- 
five  to  fifty  per  cent  higher  than  those  just  given;  but  the  usual  manner 
of  giving  relief  to  companies  in  receipt  of  insufficient  tolls  was  not  to 
allow  an  increased  rate  but  to  authorize  additional  gates,  thus  giving 
extra  collections  of  the  same  amount. 
[58] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

For  local  reasons  a  company  was  often  allowed  to  establish  two  gates 
within  the  limits  of  one,  collecting  one  half  the  allowed  rate  at  each. 
Such  were  significantly  known  as  "  half  gates." 

Certain  persons  were  exempt  from  paying  toll.     Such  were : 

any  person  who  shall  be  passing  with  his  horse  or  carriage  to  or  from  public  worship, 
or  with  his  horse  or  team  to  or  from  any  mill,  or  with  his  horse,  team,  or  cattle  to  or 
from  his  ordinary  labor  on  his  farm,  or  on  the  common  or  ordinary  business  of  family 
concerns  within  the  same  towns;  or  any  person  passing  on  military  duty. 

And  if  the  toll  gatherer  was  not  at  his  post  the  gate  had  to  be  left 
open  and  everybody  passed  free.  In  special  cases  it  was  often  provided 
that  the  inhabitants  of  certain  districts  should  pass  free  because  a 
section  of  the  public  road  had  been  absorbed  into  the  turnpike. 

Each  company  was  required  to  file  a  statement  of  the  cost  of  its  road 
and,  annually,  an  account  of  its  receipts  and  expenditures,  but  no  penalty- 
was  ever  provided  for  failure  to  do  so.  Consequently  out  of  the  sixty 
corporations  which  built  roads  in  Massachusetts  only  eight  made  con- 
scientious efforts  to  obey  the  rule.  Twenty-seven  others  reported  the 
cost  of  their  investment,  and  some  of  them  made  desultory  attempts 
to  render  the  annual  accounts,  while  twenty-five  calmly  ignored  the 
requirement. 

Under  the  law  of  1805  any  justice  of  the  court  of  common  pleas, 
upon  complaint  being  made  to  him  that  a  turnpike  was  in  bad  order, 
might  give  a  hearing  and,  if  he  found  the  complaint  well  founded,  order 
repairs  to  be  made,  the  gate  meanwhile  to  be  open  for  free  passage  of 
all.     In  1840  this  power  was  transferred  to  the  county  commissioners. 

An  act  passed  in  1845  provided  that  the  county  commissioners  might 
lay  out  any  turnpike  as  a  public  highway,  if  they  deemed  it  a  public 
convenience  and  necessity,  upon  petition  of  the  turnpike  corporation  or 
with  the  corporation's  consent. 

Generally  the  corporation  was  allowed  to  do  nothing  beyond  the 
acquisition  of  the  strip  of  land  four  rods  wide  and  the  building  and 
operation  of  a  toll  road  on  it.  Prior  to  1805  corporations  were  not 
allowed  to  run  accounts  with  regular  customers  unless  the  legislature 
specifically  authorized  it,  but  under  the  general  laws  enacted  in  that 
year  the  privilege  was  extended  to  all.  Very  few  general  laws  applying 
to  turnpikes  were  ever  passed,  many  of  the  acts  providing  penalties 
for  evasions  of  toll  and  for  damage  to  the  road  being  enacted  in  behalf 
of  certain  specified  companies,  although  ultimately  such  laws  appeared 
upon  the  statutes  applicable  to  all  roads. 

The  Revised  Statutes  of  Massachusetts,  prepared  in  i860,  contained 
but  nineteen  sections  under  the  heading  of  "  Turnpikes." 

Shares  of  stock  were  therein  declared  personal  estate,  transferable 
only  by  deed  acknowledged  before  a  justice  of  the  peace  and  recorded 
in  the  book  of  the  corporation's  clerk. 

The  county  commissioners  had  the  power  to  direct  the  location  of 
gates,  but  a  gate  at  which  the  full  rate  of  tolls  was  collected  could  not 

[59] 


NORFOLK  AND  BRISTOL  TURNPIKE. 


No. 


CfliS  Certifies,    that 


Share     No. 
BRISTOL  TURNPIKE  ROAD. 


is  proprietor  of 
of  the  NORFOLK  AND 


Jftl  2Tf StitUOHQ  UjflttCOf,  the  Seal  of  the  Corporation  is  hereto 
affixed,  the  day  of  in  the  year  of  our 

Lord,  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 


Attest, 


<  President  of  the 
I     Corporation. 


[^    that  I, 
for  a  valuable  consideration  paid  me  by 

do  hereby  transfer  to  all  my  right  in  Share    viz. 

No.  in  the  NORFOLK  AND  BRISTOL  TURNPIKE  ROAD. 


Witness  my  hand  and  seal,  this 
A.  D.  one  thousand  eight  hundred  and 
Witness, 


day  of 


ss,  Then 

above  named  acknotoledged  the  foregoing  to  be  his  free  act  and  deed. 

Before  |£*£ 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

be  erected  within  ten  miles  of  another  such  gate  without  a  special  act 
of  the  legislature;  and  no  gate  could  be  put  across  a  section  of  a  turn- 
pike which  had  been  a  public  road  previous  to  turnpike  building. 

Rates  of  toll  were  prescribed  in  full  detail,  with  a  provision  that 
only  half  such  rates  could  be  collected  from  drivers  of  vehicles  having 
wheel  felloes  six  inches  wide. 

Exemptions  from  paying  toll  were  specified  and  a  penalty  of  ten 
dollars,  to  be  recovered  by  the  corporation,  was  provided  for  anyone 
falsely  claiming  such  exemption.  Avoiding  the  payment  of  toll  laid  the 
offender  liable  to. a  fine  of  twenty-five  dollars  while,  on  the  other  hand, 
the  corporation  stood  assessable  in  the  sum  of  fifty  dollars,  if  its  toll 
gatherer  demanded  excessive  toll  or  subjected  the  traveler  to  an  un- 
reasonable delay. 

Carts  or  wagons  carrying  loads  of  over  forty-five  hundred  pounds 
on  wheel  felloes  less  than  three  and  a  half  inches  wide  had  to  pay  three 
times  the  regular  rate  of  toll,  but  the  fine  for  evasion  in  such  cases  was 
only  ten  dollars.  If  a  driver  locked  the  wheels  of  a  loaded  cart  or 
wagon,  to  ease  its  progress  down  a  hill,  without  using  a  six-by-twelve- 
inch  iron  shoe,  he  might  regret  it  to  the  extent  measured  by  twenty 
dollars.  Indulgence  in  the  construction  of  a  "  shunpike  "  might  cost 
its  promoter  a  thousand  dollars.  Turnpike  corporations  were  made 
liable  for  damages  through  any  defect  in  their  roads,  but  not  in  cases 
where  the  gross  load  was  in  excess  of  six  tons. 

Fines  could  be  assessed  upon  the  corporations  for  neglect  of  their 
roads  as  in  the  case  of  towns,  but  all  money  secured  by  such  fines 
had  to  be  applied  to  the  repair  of  the  road  involved,  under  the  direction 
of  an  agent  appointed  by  the  court.  When  a  turnpike  was  assumed  by 
the  authorities  of  a  county  the  corporation  was  thereby  dissolved  as  far 
as  its  obligations  toward  that  section  of  road  were  concerned,  and  all 
the  land  held  reverted  to  the  former  owners,  or  their  heirs,  even  if  the 
corporation  had  purchased  the  same  and  taken  a  regular  deed. 

The  requirement  of  an  annual  report  of  business  done  appeared  in 
the  Revised  Statutes  of  i860,  but  even  then  it  had  "  no  teeth  in  it." 

No  general  provision  was  ever  made  for  the  organization  of  a  turn- 
pike corporation.  Petition  had  to  be  made  to  the  legislature  which, 
if  it  saw  fit,  might  create  the  corporation  and  allow  it  the  privileges 
appertaining  to  such  under  the  general  provisions,  with  such  special 
rights  as  could  be  obtained. 

In  each  New  England  state  every  corporation  was  made  subject  to 
dissolution  when  its  first  investment  plus  twelve-per-cent  interest  had 
been  repaid,  and  it  may  be  interesting  to  consider  how  far  short  of 
realizing  such  hopes  the  actual  performances  were.  Some  reason  has 
been  found  for  inferring  that  it  was  expected  that  the  life  of  a  corpora- 
tion under  such  terms  would  be  about  twenty  years,  and  to  fulfill  that 
expectation  a  road  would  have  to  yield  net  earnings  of  twelve  per  cent 
for  interest  and  five  per  cent  for  a  sinking  fund,  or  seventeen  per  cent 

[61] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

in  all.  We  will  consider  the  two  best  roads  in  Massachusetts,  the  Salem 
Turnpike  and  the  Dorchester  Turnpike,  taking  the  best  single  year's 
business  done  on  each  road  which,  in  each  case,  shows  in  a  pronounced 
peak  on  the  plotted  charts. 

The  best  year  on  the  Salem  was  1835,  when  the  net  earnings  of  the 
road  amounted  to  $12,330,  or  about  six  and  eight  tenths  per  cent  of  the 
cost  of  construction.  The  Dorchester's  biggest  year's  work  was  done 
in  1838,  when  its  net  earnings  were  $4005,  or  about  nine  and  two  tenths 
per  cent  of  the  cost. 

So  it  may  safely  be  said  that  in  only  one  year  and  on  only  one  road 
did  the  earnings  yield  half  enough  to  meet  the  expectations.  And  in 
nearly  every  case  the  road  was  finally  given  up  at  an  almost  total  loss. 

What  method  of  estimating  earnings  could  the  turnpike  promoters 
have  followed?  The  Blue  Hill  Turnpike  was  built  at  a  cost  of  $78,300. 
To  retire  that  road  at  the  end  of  twenty  years  and  keep  it  in  repair 
during  that  term  meant  that  annual  gross  earnings  of  $13,800  were 
to  be  secured.  They  actually  averaged  about  $1392,  with  $2450  for 
a  maximum.  The  Blue  Hill  served  the  towns  of  Milton  and  Randolph, 
connecting  them  with  Boston  over  the  Dorchester  Turnpike;  and  it 
could  not  have  been  expected  in  those  days  that  appreciable  business 
would  have  come  from  any  other  places,  as  the  branch  turnpike  to 
Taunton  had  not  then  been  proposed. 

Milton  in  1840  contained  about  four  hundred  and  forty-eight  fami- 
lies, and  Randolph,  nine  hundred  and  forty-eight.  Assuming  that  each 
of  these  groups  would  make  four  annual  trips  to  Boston  and  back,  with 
the  very  improbable  idea  of  there  being  sufficient  additional  travel  to 
require  daily  stages  from  each  town  to  Boston  and  return,  and  that  two 
six-horse  freight  wagons,  amply  sufficient  for  that  population,  would 
pass  over  the  road  each  way  daily,  we  could  anticipate  the  following 
returns : 

448  Milton  families — 8  tolls  @  .I2>4 $448 

948  Randolph  families — 8  tolls  @  .25 1896 

Stage  and  four  horses — 300  days — 2  tolls  @  .33 198 

"       "       "        "     _3oo     "  —2     "    @  .1634 99 

Freight  wagons  and  six  horses — 300  days — 4  tolls  @  .22 264 

$2905 

So  it  is  seen  that  anticipating  nearly  forty  years'  growth  in  the  two 
towns,  the  Blue  Hill  having  been  projected  in  1804,  and  assuming  all 
the  business  that  could  possibly  have  been  visible  to  an  optimistic  pro- 
moter, that  road's  prospects  yearly  fell  nearly  $11,000  short  of  what 
its  proprietors  seem  to  have  expected. 

And  yet  the  investment  in  turnpikes  was  heavy.  Considering  only 
the  corporations  whose  bridges  were  not  the  greater  part  of  the  cost, 
we  find  that  thirty-two  companies,  owning  five  hundred  and  ninety-three 
and  one  half  miles  of  roads,  reported  their  investments,  with  a  total 
[62] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

of  $1,230,823.  We  have  outside  information  that  three  others  ex- 
pended $578,200.  Taking  the  companies  which  failed  to  report  their 
first  costs,  and  placing  an  estimate  on  each  according  to  the  return  for 
a  similar  road,  we  find  it  probable  that  $569,977  more  was  invested 
in  turnpikes  in  Massachusetts,  making  a  total  of  $2,379,000.  As  the 
population  of  the  entire  state  in  1830,  when  turnpikes  were  at  their 
prime,  was  610,408,  it  is  seen  that  the  turnpike  investment  was  in  the 
proportion  of  about  three  dollars  and  ninety  cents  per  capita.  When  it 
is  considered  that  this  investment  provided  only  the  road,  with  a  few 
gates  and  tollhouses  which  seldom  cost  a  thousand  dollars  apiece,  and 
that  the  rolling  stock  and  motive  equipment  was  a  further  matter  for 
individual  investment,  it  is  seen  that  the  per-capita  amount  tied  up  in 
the  turnpike  utilities  did  not  compare  poorly  with  the  later  capital  placed 
in  railroads. 

Why,  then,  were  the  turnpikes  built?  In  a  letter  written  by  one  of  the 
incorporators  of  the  First  Massachusetts  Turnpike,  and  dated  in  1 800, 
warning  was  given  against  too  great  expectations  from  such  investments, 
as  the  First  had  proved  a  disappointment;  and  it  seems  to  have  been 
generally  known  long  before  the  rush  of  construction  subsided  that 
turnpike  stock  was  worthless. 

It  can  be  conceived  that  propositions  to  connect  such  cities  as  Boston 
and  Providence,  Worcester,  Hartford,  Salem,  and  Newburyport  may 
have  seemed  to  stand  in  a  separate  class  and  to  hold  hopes  of  remunera- 
tive business;  but  what  encouragement  could  have  been  seen  for  roads 
In  the  rural  districts  connecting  small  towns?  The  conclusion  is  forced 
upon  us  that  the  larger  part  of  the  turnpikes  of  New  England  were 
built  in  the  hope  of  benefiting  the  towns  and  the  local  business  con- 
ducted in  them,  counting  more  upon  the  collateral  results  than  upon  the 
direct  returns  in  the  matter  of  tolls. 

The  turnpike  era  commenced  in  Massachusetts  in  1796  when  the  first 
act  of  incorporation  for  a  turnpike  was  passed,  and  generally  it  can 
be  said  to  have  ended  by  1850,  when  railroads  were  in  the  ascendancy, 
although  certain  companies  continued  to  do  business  through  the  sixties, 
and  one  did  not  surrender  its  corporate  rights  until  1905. 

The  early  roads  were  in  the  western  part  of  the  state,  as  were  some 
of  the  last  ones,  but  those  which  collected  their  tolls  well  within  the 
memory  of  men  now  living  were  on  the  eastern  coast. 

THE    FIRST    MASSACHUSETTS   TURNPIKE 

The  first  Massachusetts  act  of  incorporation  for  a  turnpike  company 
was  approved  by  Governor  Samuel  Adams  on  the  eleventh  day  of 
June,  1796.  As  customary  in  those  days,  the  act  commenced  with  a 
preamble  which  read  as  follows: 

Whereas  the  highway  leading  through  the  towns  of  Palmer  and  Western  is  cir- 
cuitous, rocky,  and  mountainous,  and  there  is  much  travelling  over  the  same,  and  the 

[63] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

expense  of  straightening,  making,  and  repairing  an  highway  through  those  towns, 
so  that  the  same  may  be  safe  and  convenient  for  travellers  with  horses  and  carriages, 
would  be  much  greater  than  ought  to  be  required  of  the  said  towns  under  their  pres- 
ent circumstances,  etc.  etc. 

Hence  the  First  Massachusetts  Turnpike  Corporation  was  created 
and  authority  granted  it  to  lay  out  and  make  a  turnpike-road 

from  Western  bridge,  near  the  Upper  Mills,  so  called,  in  Western  (now  Warren) 
in  the  county  of  Worcester,  to  the  county  road,  near  the  house  lately  called  Scott's 
tavern,  in  Palmer,  in  the  county  of  Hampshire. 

Through  travelers  between  Boston  and  New  York,  at  that  time,  had 
their  choice  of  three  routes,  —  one  along  the  shore  of  Long  Island 
Sound,  the  middle  following  more  nearly  a  direct  line,  and  the  northern 
route  through  Worcester  and  Springfield.  The  last  led  through  Palmer, 
and  it  was  for  the  improvement  of  that  through  route,  to  hold  its  trade, 
and  very  likely  with  a  view  to  financial  profit,  that  the  turnpike  was 
projected.  It  was  built  according  to  Temple's  "  History  of  Palmer," 
"  through  Palmer  Old  Centre,  and  kept  on  the  northerly  side  of  the 
river  eastward;  and  was  the  leading  thoroughfare  for  long  travel  be- 
tween Boston,  Worcester,  Springfield,  Hartford,  New  Haven,  and  New 
York,  for  many  years.  The  toll  gate  was  about  two  miles  east  of 
Palmer  meeting  house." 

Thirty-one  solid  citizens  were  named  in  the  act  of  incorporation, 
among  whom  are  some  of  note.  Levi  Lincoln,  at  that  time  a  member 
of  the  house  of  representatives  from  Worcester  County,  and  later 
senator,  congressman,  attorney-general  of  the  United  States,  lieuten- 
ant governor  and  acting  governor  of  Massachusetts,  whose  son  Levi 
attained  the  highest  office  in  the  state,  was  one.  Another,  Captain 
Levi  Pease,  seeking  employment  after  his  arduous  duties  in  the  Revolu- 
tionary Army,  had  started  a  line  of  stages  between  New  York  and 
Boston,  over  the  northern  route,  in  1783.  By  many  he  is  hailed  as 
"  The  father  of  the  turnpikes  "  and  "  The  father  of  the  stage  coach," 
and  there  is  no  disposition  here  to  dispute  his  claim  to  either  title. 
Salem  Town,  of  Charlton,  was  a  prominent  man  and  at  the  time  of 
this  incorporation  was  a  member  of  the  senate.  He  appears  to  have 
become  a  turnpike  authority  later,  for  we  find  him  often  named  as  one 
of  a  committee  to  locate  a  new  road.  But  the  chief  interest  centers 
around  the  name  of  Thomas  Dwight,  who,  four  years  later,  wrote  a 
letter  to  a  friend  on  the  subject  of  turnpikes  which  is  almost  a  treatise. 
This  letter  is  to  be  found  among  the  papers  of  the  Norfolk  and  Bristol 
Turnpike  Corporation,  now  deposited  with  the  Dedham  Historical 
Society,  and  gives  much  interesting  reading.  From  it  we  learn  that  the 
first  section  of  the  First  Massachusetts  Turnpike  was  built  by  Captain 
Bailey  of  Connecticut,  who  later  built  the  turnpike  from  Hartford  to 
New  Haven,  and  that  his  contract  price  was  three  dollars  per  rod  of 
length,  yielding  him  $8640  for  the  nine  miles  of  road  which  he  built. 

[64] 


3  fe 

o  "* 


o 

2; 


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< 


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£ 


w 

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§  o 

u 

S  J 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

Mr.  Dwight  criticizes  this  price  as  too  much  by  fifty  per  cent.  An  ex- 
tension of  the  road  to  Wilbraham  was  allowed  by  the  legislature  in 
1798,  and  four  miles  of  this,  including  one  half  mile  along  the  Chicopee 
River,  where  the  mountain  approached  so  close  to  the  river  as  to  necessi- 
tate a  cut  and  a  retaining  wall  ten  feet  in  height,  was  contracted  by  one 
Blair  of  Western  for  two  dollars  per  rod,  or  $640  per  mile.  Mr. 
Dwight  thought  that  the  contractor  received  too  much  profit  out  of  that. 
He  cautioned  his  friend  to  watch  the  contractors,  as  they  would  cheat, 
placing  stumps  and  large  stones  in  the  fill  instead  of  good  road  material, 
and  he  advises  the  retention  of  ten  per  cent  of  the  contract  price  for 
two  years  while  the  behavior  of  the  work  is  observed.  The  First 
Massachusetts  Turnpike  Corporation  had  made  a  mistake,  he  wrote,  in 
having  so  many  shares  at  a  small  price  each,  and  he  warned  his  friend, 
who  was  about  to  embark  in  such  an  enterprise,  that  the  expectations 
of  the  promoters  of  the  First  had  not  been  realized. 

The  road  of  the  First  Massachusetts  was  relocated  in  1799,  and 
made  four  rods  wide  instead  of  three  as  formerly.  This  appears  to 
have  been  done  in  connection  with  the  laying  out  of  the  extension  to 
Wilbraham,  which  was  allowed  by  the  legislature  of  1798,  and  a  pecu- 
liar error  is  found  in  the  county  records  at  Springfield  and  North- 
ampton, where  appears  the  approval  of  the  court  of  sessions  of  the 
relocation  and  layout  and  the  decree  of  the  court  establishing  the  road 
as  "  a  county  road."  That  it  was  not  so  established  is  plainly  shown 
by  the  legislative  acts  which  followed.  In  18 13  a  special  act  allowed 
the  acquirement  of  real  estate  adjoining  the  road  for  the  accommoda- 
tion of  its  toll  gatherers.  In  18 19  the  corporation  was  released  from 
its  obligation  to  maintain  its  road  east  of  the  road  to  Northampton. 
How  much  longer  the  toll  gatherers  continued  their  work  is  not  known, 
as  the  county  records  in  Springfield,  Northampton,  and  Worcester  do 
not  definitely  record  the  public  laying  out  of  the  old  First  turnpike. 

In  the  next  eighteen  years  ninety-seven  corporations  were  chartered, 
one  or  more  being  ground  out  of  the  legislative  mill  in  every  year  except 
1798,  with  1803  as  the  banner  year,  having  sixteen  for  its  record.  Few 
new  companies  were  organized  after  18 14,  although  a  revival  occurred 
in  1826,  when  six  appeared.  1832,  1841,  and  1868  saw  the  birth  of  the 
last  three,  none  of  which  seems  to  have  built  a  road.  In  all,  one  hun- 
dred and  eighteen  acts  of  incorporation  were  passed,  with  one  authoriz- 
ing a  New  Hampshire  company  to  build  in  Massachusetts.  Ten  of  these, 
however,  were  in  the  district  which  afterwards  became  the  state  of  Maine. 

It  was  the  early  custom  to  designate  each  company  like  a  regiment 
going  to  war,  and  we  have  the  "  First  Massachusetts,"  "  Second  Massa- 
chusetts," "  Third  Massachusetts,"  and  so  on  to  the  Sixteenth,  although, 
as  the  compiler  of  the  special  acts  quaintly  observes,  "  there  is  a  chasm 
in  the  course  of  numbers,"  there  being  no  Seventh,  and  the  "  Williams- 
town  Turnpike  Corporation  "  coming  in  the  place  of  the  Fourth. 

[65] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 


THE    SECOND    MASSACHUSETTS   TURNPIKE 

A  notable  piece  of  construction  was  the  road  of  the  "  Second  Massa- 
chusetts," chartered  March  8,  1797,  to  build  "  from  the  west  line  of 
Charlemont,  in  the  county  of  Hampshire,  to  the  west  foot  of  Hoosuck 
Mountain  in  Adams,  in  the  county  of  Berkshire."  This  road  was  the 
predecessor  of  the  Hoosac  Tunnel,  following  closely  the  same  route. 
It  followed  up  the  valley  of  the  Deerfield  River  on  the  southerly  bank 
as  far  as  Buckley  Brook,  near  the  present  Hoosac  Tunnel  station.  Then 
bearing  southerly  it  described  a  semicircular  course  up  the  east  side  of 
the  mountain,  and  so  on  to  North  Adams.  That  the  project  was  long 
in  maturing  is  shown  by  the  finding  of  a  plan  dated  1795  in  the  Massa- 
chusetts archives,  on  which  the  route  of  the  proposed  turnpike  is  shown. 
In  1 804  the  company  was  authorized  to  build  a  bridge  over  the  Deer- 
field  River  at  the  easterly  end  of  its  turnpike.  They  must  have  been 
long  in  availing  themselves  of  this  privilege,  for  not  until  18 17  were 
they  allowed  to  erect  a  gate  on  the  bridge.  An  unobstructed  bridge  at 
the  far  end  of  the  road  must  have  been  extensively  and  freely  used,  and 
it  is  not  to  be  expected  that  the  company  waited  long  under  such  cir- 
cumstances before  applying  for  relief.  An  instance  of  how  closely  the 
corporation  was  held  to  the  privileges  contained  in  the  act  of  incorpora- 
tion is  found  in  1830,  when,  by  special  act,  David  White  of  Heath  was 
authorized  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  proprietors  "  for  the  purpose  of 
choosing  a  clerk,"  and  nothing  else.  Evidently  the  corporation  had  lost 
its  clerk,  by  death  or  otherwise,  and  by  no  other  person  could  the  stock- 
holders be  called  together;  and  only  at  a  meeting  called  by  a  duly 
elected  clerk  could  any  business  be  transacted.  That  the  receipts  did 
not  yield  sufficient  revenue  can  be  seen  from  an  act  passed  in  18 17,  in 
which  the  company  is  allowed  to  erect  an  additional  gate,  which  meant 
one  more  collection  of  tolls,  while  the  rates  of  toll  were  slightly  in- 
creased also.  In  1833  the  corporation  was  dissolved  and  the  road  made 
free. 

This  route  over  Hoosac,  or  Florida,  Mountain  followed  approxi- 
mately the  line  of  the  old  Mohawk  Trail,  over  which  those  dusky  war- 
riors proceeded  in  1664  on  their  terrifying  raid,  which  resulted  in  the 
extermination  of  the  Pocumtuck  tribe,  which  lived  in  the  Connecticut 
Valley.  In  19 14  the  Massachusetts  Highway  Commission  completed 
the  construction  of  a  state  highway  over  nearly  the  same  line,  and  the 
route,  originally  blazed  in  savage  vengeance  and  hatred,  has  now  be- 
come one  of  the  most  popular  and  beautiful  roads  of  the  country.  At 
the  highest  point,  where  the  road  crosses  the  backbone  of  the  old  Bay 
State,  and  for  two  miles  easterly  from  it,  the  Mohawk  Trail,  as  the 
new  state  highway  is  called,  is  on  the  line  of  the  old  Second  Massachu- 
setts Turnpike. 

The  Second  Massachusetts  was  a  route  for  several  of  the  stages 

[66] 


THE  "TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

from  Boston  to  Albany,  which  continued  on  the  Williamstown  Turnpike 
to  Williamstown,  and  then  followed  up  the  valley  of  the  Green  River 
and  the  West  Branch  to  Hancock  Center. 


THE   THIRD    MASSACHUSETTS   TURNPIKE 

The  "  Third  Massachusetts,"  incorporated  on  the  day  after  the 
"  Second,"  built  its  road  from  the  east  side  of  Roberts  Hill  in  North- 
ampton to  the  eastwardly  line  of  Pittsfield,  and,  under  authority  given 
the  next  year,  across  the  town  of  Hancock,  to  the  New  York  line.  A 
break  in  the  system  is  thus  seen  across  Pittsfield,  which  town  seems  to 
have  always  been  able  to  provide  needed  highways  from  its  public  funds. 
Turnpike  travelers  thus  had  free  passage  over  what  are  now  known 
as  Unkamet  and  West  streets  in  Pittsfield.  In  1800,  as  we  are  told  in 
Smith's  "  History  of  Pittsfield,"  the  company  petitioned  the  legislature, 
stating  that  it  had  been  able  to  pay  no  dividends  on  its  expenditure  of 
$30,000,  and  asked  that  it  might  collect  larger  tolls.  It  also  made  what 
seems  an  unreasonable  request,  that  the  towns  should  be  required  to 
break  out  the  road  after  snowstorms,  and  that  they  should  expend  more 
money  on  the  bridges.  While  the  road  was  private  property,  the  towns 
seem  to  have  helped  maintain  the  bridges.  No  act  has  been  found 
granting  these  requests.  All  turnpike  corporations  were  required,  by 
their  charters,  to  file  with  the  secretary  of  state  a  statement  of  the  cost 
of  the  road  and,  annually,  a  summary  of  their  receipts  and  expenditures. 
The  "  Third  "  was  the  first  to  do  so;  no  penalty  being  provided,  most 
of  the  companies  neglected  the  matter.  From  the  returns  of  the 
"Third"  we  learn  that  its  road  cost  $29,989.34.  The  length  being 
roughly  thirty-two  miles,  made  the  road  cost  about  $940  a  mile.  From 
the  returns  filed  between  1801  and  18 14,  we  see  that  its  net  earnings 
averaged  about  $600  yearly,  or  about  two  per  cent.  The  name  of  this 
corporation  was  changed,  in  1814,  to  "The  Worthington  Turnpike 
Corporation."  On  petition  of  the  corporation,  its  road  was  made  free 
in  September,  1829. 


THE   WILLIAMSTOWN   TURNPIKE 

The  Williamstown  Turnpike  Corporation  was  the  fourth  to  be  in- 
corporated in  Massachusetts,  and  its  road  formed  a  continuation  of 
that  of  the  Second  across  Williamstown  to  the  New  York  line.  It 
seems  to  have  been  the  original  of  the  present  Adams  and  Main  streets 
and  Petersburg  Road  in  that  town. 

The  cost  was  about  $1000  a  mile,  and  during  the  two  years  for 
which  it  deigned  to  file  returns  its  profits  were  $490.21,  or  about  two 
and  one  half  per  cent  on  the  investment. 

This  turnpike  connected  at  the  New  York  line  with  the  Eastern 
Turnpike  of  that  state,  but  it  does  not  seem  that  the  combination  in- 

[67] 


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THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 


vited  much  stage  travel.  The  Boston  to  Albany  stages  came  as  far  as 
Williamstown  Center  but  turned  southerly  there,  and  ran  the  length 
of  the  town  of  Hancock  before  turning  to  the  west  again. 

THE    FIFTH    MASSACHUSETTS   TURNPIKE 

"  The  Fifth  Massachusetts  Turnpike,"  authorized  by  an  act  passed 
March  3,  1799,  was  the  most  extensive  and  ambitious  project  sanctioned 
by  the  state.  The  mileage  undertaken  and  the  rough  character  of  much 
of  the  country  which  it  traversed,  together  with  the  scarcity  of  settle- 
ments along  much  of  its  length,  show  conclusively  that  its  projectors 
were  more  intent  upon  other  benefits  to  be  derived  than  upon  dividends 
from  their  investment.  The  turnpike  was  projected  in  Greenfield,  which 
place  had  hitherto  been  accessible  only  by  way  of  the  Connecticut  River, 
and  the  construction  of  the  road  opened  a  direct  line  to  the  eastern 
part  of  the  state.  The  route  was  also  designed  to  connect  Northfield 
and  southern  New  Hampshire  with  the  same  section,  the  whole  being 
defined  in  the  charter  as 

from  Capt.  Elisha  Hunt's  in  Northfield  through  Warwick,  Orange,  Athol,  Gerry, 
Templeton,  and  Gardner,  to  Westminster  Meeting-house;  from  thence  to  Jonas 
Kendall's  tavern  in  Leominster;  and  also  from  Calvin  Munn's  tavern  in  Greenfield, 
through  Montague  and  up  Millers  river,  through  unincorporated  land,  so  as  to  inter- 
sect the  road  aforesaid  in  Athol. 

A  stage  had  been  established  between  Boston  and  Northfield  as  far 
back  as  1789,  according  to  Temple  and  Sheldon's  "  History  of  North- 
field,"  which  ran  by  way  of  Worcester,  Holden,  Barre,  Petersham, 
Athol,  Orange,  and  Warwick;  and  in  1790  its  trips  were  extended  to 
Bennington  by  way  of  Brattleboro. 

The  turnpike  corporation  was  formally  organized  at  a  meeting 
held  in  the  inn  of  Oliver  Chapin  in  Orange,  probably  early  in  1799, 
and  sixteen  hundred  shares  were  issued  with  a  par  value  of  $100  each, 
as  Frederick  A.  Currier  told  the  Fitchburg  Historical  Society.  Work 
must  have  been  commenced  at  once  and  prosecuted  with  remarkable 
energy,  for  in  June,  1800,  the  legislature  authorized  the  company  to 
open  all  of  its  road  except  about  three  quarters  of  a  mile  which  passed 
close  to  the  Westminster  meeting-house  and  which  apparently  did  not 
satisfy  the  corporation,  as  they  had  appealed  to  the  general  court 
for  a  change  in  that  part  of  their  location.  The  matter  remained  open 
for  nearly  a  year  when  the  company  was  required  to  locate  its  road 
"  to  the  northward  of  said  meeting-house,  in  the  most  convenient  direc- 
tion." At  the  November  term  of  1800,  of  the  court  of  sessions  of 
Hampshire  County,  the  "  layout  according  to  survey  by  Ebenezer 
Hoyt  from  Greenfield  to  Athol  and  in  Warwick  "  was  approved.  At 
about  the  same  time  the  layout  in  Worcester  County  was  approved 
through  the  towns  of  Athol,  Gerry  (now  Phillipston),  Templeton, 
Gardner,  Westminster,  Fitchburg,  and  Leominster. 

[69] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

Starting  in  Greenfield  the  road  had  its  western  terminus  at  the  tavern 
of  Calvin  Munn,  which  occupied  the  site  of  the  Mansion  House,  as 
Thompson  states  in  his  "  History  of  Greenfield,"  and  followed  what 
is  now  Highland  Avenue  and  on  by  Highland  Park  and  the  Bear's  den 
to  Montague  City  bridge;  thence  passing  south  of  Turners  Falls  to 
Millers  Falls,  where  it  crossed  the  Millers  River  and  followed  easterly 
on  its  northerly  bank  substantially  on  the  line  of  the  present  state 
highway  to  Fitchburg,  and  thence  to  Leominster.  The  length  from 
Greenfield  to  the  Athol  line  is  given  by  Hoyt's  survey  as  twenty  miles, 
sixty-eight  rods,  and  six  links,  which  with  the  added  length  of  the  branch 
to  Northfield  and  the  long  section  in  Worcester  County  must  have  given 
the  company  a  total  mileage  of  nearly  fifty-eight.  The  statement  filed 
with  the  secretary  of  state  gives  the  cost  as  $54,965.06,  from  which 
the  average  cost  per  mile  would  be  about  $950.  The  section  running 
to  Northfield  appears  to  have  been  originally  projected  as  the  main 
line,  but  it  clearly  was  destined  to  be  a  side  issue,  as  the  heavier  traffic 
naturally  followed  the  route  along  the  Millers  River,  to  Greenfield, 
on  the  way  to  central  New  York. 

What  we  here  call  the  Northfield  branch  left  the  main  road  in  Athol, 
passing  through  Pinedale  and  Warwick,  to  Houghton's  Corner,  in 
Northfield,  which  was  chosen  for  the  terminus  instead  of  Capt.  Elisha 
Hunt's,  as  specified  in  the  charter.  This  branch  was  relocated  in  1815, 
so  that  it  crossed  Millers  River  just  west  of  Athol  and  then  followed  up 
the  west  side  of  Tully  River.  The  act  authorizing  this  relocation  also 
provided  that  the  corporation  might  alter  its  road  in  any  such  places 
"  as  shall  facilitate  the  travel  by  going  round  instead  of  over  hills,  with- 
out much  increase  of  way,"  which  indicates  that  the  straight-line  mania 
had  somewhat  clouded  the  issue  with  the  original  locators.  Two  other 
branches  were  authorized,  one  in  February,  1803,  from  Athol  to  the 
New  Hampshire  line  in  the  west  part  of  Royalston,  and  the  other, 
in  June  of  the  same  year,  from  the  corporation's  road  in  Warwick  to 
the  line  of  Winchester,  New  Hampshire.  No  indication  has  been  found 
that  the  first  was  ever  built,  but  the  Hampshire  County  records  estab- 
lish that  the  second  was  built,  connecting  with  the  road  of  the  Sixth 
New  Hampshire,  and  its  construction  approved  within  about  three  years. 

An  additional  gate  was  allowed  in  1 8 1 1  and  the  rates  of  toll  were 
increased,  by  which  we  judge  that  dividends  were  not  forthcoming.  In 
June,  1827,  the  corporation  was  allowed  to  build  a  new  section,  to 
replace  a  part  of  its  old  road,  which  extended  down  the  "  Gulf  road  " 
in  Warwick,  and  in  December  of  the  same  year  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  estimate  the  value  of  land  occupied  by  the  new  construction. 

At  the  December,  1829,  meeting  of  the  county  commissioners  of 
Franklin  County  a  petition  was  entered  for  the  freeing  of  the  Fifth 
Massachusetts  within  Franklin  County,  but  no  action  seems  to  have 
followed,  for  in  1832  Ephraim  Stone,  Calvin  Townsley,  Lipha  French, 
Benjamin  Estabrook,  and  Joseph  Young,  directors  of  the  corporation, 

[70] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

renewed  the  petition,  but  this  time  asking  that  they  might  be  relieved 
of  the  entire  system  of  roads  and  the  same  thrown  open  to  the  public. 
The  request  being  granted,  the  old  turnpike  became  a  part  of  the  public- 
road  system  of  the  respective  counties  in  that  same  year,   1832. 

At  the  time  of  the  establishment  of  Franklin  County  and  during  the 
contest  between  various  aspirants  for  the  location  of  the  county  seat, 
Greenfield  set  forth  its  claims,  stating,  among  other  boasts,  that  the 
Fifth  Massachusetts  Turnpike  had  been  promoted  in  that  town  and  had  . 
cost  $60,000.  In  all  probability  extensive  repairs  were  required,  which 
could  not  be  financed  from  the  earnings,  and  hence  additional  expendi- 
tures of  capital  were  needed.  The  Millers  River  is  a  turbulent  stream 
and  no  doubt  made  easy  work  of  washing  away  long  sections  of  the 
early  roadbeds. 

The  corporation  filed  returns,  as  required  by  the  charter,  from  1798 
to  1801,  in  1 8 1 8,  and  again  from  1822  to  1827.  In  1801  the  receipts 
were  nearly  $1800  with  expenses  of  $1046,  leaving  a  net  of  about  $754. 
In  1822,  1823,  and  1824  the  receipts  averaged  about  $1030  and  the 
expenses  about  $730,  leaving  an  inconsiderable  amount  for  dividends. 
Receipts  increased  and  expenses  were  lessened  in  the  next  year,  but 
apparently  trouble  was  saved  for  the  following  year,  for  then  the  ex- 
pense jumped  to  over  $1600,  and  in  1827,  the  last  year  in  which  reports 
were  made,  there  was  a  deficit  of  nearly  $800.  That  dividends  were 
paid,  however,  for  a  few  years  is  stated  by  Frederick  A.  Currier  in 
Proceedings  of  the  Fitchburg  Historical  Society.  In  18 10  one  of  $.50  a 
share  was  declared;  from  1811  to  181 7,  $.75;  in  18 18,  $1.25;  1820, 
$.25  ;  and  in  1823,  $.75.  By  the  above,  1818  would  seem  to  have  been 
a  most  prosperous  year;  but  the  returns  filed  at  the  state  house  for  that 
year  show  a  net  income  of  only  about  $600,  little  in  such  a  showing  to 
induce  investment  in  similar  projects  for  monetary  gain. 

The  town  of  Ashburnham  became  mildly  excited  over  the  project 
of  the  Fifth  Massachusetts,  as  it  hoped  thereby  to  be  relieved  from  the 
impending  cost  of  a  new  county  road,  Stearns'  "  History  of  Ashburn- 
ham "  recites,  and  much  negotiating  with  the  corporation  occurred. 
Finally  an  agreement  was  reached,  by  which  the  town  contributed  $1000, 
but  the  corporation  reserved  the  right  to  build  its  road  where  it  saw  fit. 
As  none  of  the  road  was  ever  built  in  Ashburnham,  it  would  be  interest- 
ing to  know  what  became  of  that  thousand  dollars. 

THE    SIXTH    MASSACHUSETTS   TURNPIKE 

Once  more,  before  the  close  of  the  eighteenth  century,  the  legislature 
incorporated  a  turnpike  corporation,  this  time  the  Sixth  Massachusetts, 
on  June  22,  1799.  It  was  proposed  by  this  company  to  build  a  road 
"  from  the  east  line  of  Amherst,  on  the  county  road,  near  William 
Breton's  house,  through  said  towns  '(given  in  preamble:  Pelham, 
Greenwich,  Hardwick,  New-Braintree,  Oakham,  Rutland,  Holden,  and 

[71] 


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THE   TURNPIKES    OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

Worcester)'  to  the  great  road  in  Shrewsbury  aforesaid,"  the  great  road 
in  Shrewsbury  being  the  road  from  Boston  to  New  York.  Records 
in  Worcester  and  Northampton  show  that  the  turnpike  was  completed 
in  1800.  Jonas  Reed  was  the  proprietor's  clerk,  or  as  would  be  said 
now,  clerk  of  the  corporation,  and  he,  in  later  years,  published  a 
history  of  the  town  of  Rutland,  from  which  is  extracted  first  hand 
information  regarding  this  turnpike.  It  is  learned  that  the  road  was 
forty-three  miles  and  one  hundred  and  twelve  rods  in  length;  that  it 
was  built  in  one  summer,  which  the  records  show  was  that  of  1800; 
and  that  the  cost  was  about  $33,000,  or  at  the  rate  of  about  $760  a 
mile.  At  a  town  meeting,  Rutland  voted  its  approval  of  the  project 
and  voiced  its  wish  to  have  the  turnpike  built  through  the  town,  and 
appropriated  $1000  to  help  the  cause  along.  The  appropriation  was 
later  rescinded,  whereupon  a  number  of  individuals  associated  them- 
selves and  contracted  to  build  the  road  through  Rutland  for  $1.70  a 
rod,  taking  their  pay  in  stock  of  the  company  at  $25  per  share.  The 
work  was  sublet,  Moses  White  undertaking  the  construction  of  five 
hundred  and  nineteen  rods  of  the  west  end  at  the  rate  of  $2.39  a  rod, 
while  the  remaining  seventeen  hundred  and  fifty  rods  was  divided  into 
seven  sections,  each  of  which  was  let  at  a  price  of  $1.41  per  rod.  The 
average  price  per  rod  is  thus  seen  to  be  $1.63,  which  gave  the  first 
contractors  a  profit  of  a  little  less  than  $.07  on  each  rod,  but  since  they 
took  their  pay  in  stock,  it  is  not  supposed  that  any  of  them  grew  rich 
from  it.  Information  as  to  the  location  of  gates  on  any  of  the  roads  is 
generally  vague,  but  the  one  on  this  road  in  Holden  stood  a  little  west  of 
the  center,  according  to  Estes'  "  History  of  Holden,"  to  which  position 
the  legislature  allowed  it  to  be  moved  by  an  act  passed  June  17,  1820. 
In  the  same  act  the  corporation  was  allowed  to  discontinue  such  of  its 
road  as  lay  in  the  towns  of  Pelham  and  Greenwich,  and  was  discharged 
from  all  liability  for  maintaining  the  same.  In  1829  the  remainder  of 
the  Sixth  turnpike  was  laid  out  as  a  county  road  and  became  free. 

As  already  stated,  no  corporation  bearing  the  name  of  Seventh  was 
ever  incorporated.  Had  it  been  the  Thirteenth  which  was  omitted,  one 
could  easily  conjure  a  reason  therefor,  but  nothing  is  known  to  explain 
the  failure  to  recognize  the  number  seven. 

THE    EIGHTH    MASSACHUSETTS   TURNPIKE 

The  Eighth,  Ninth,  and  Tenth  Massachusetts  Turnpike  corporations 
were  the  legislative  grist  for  the  year  1800.  The  Eighth,  incorporated 
on  the  twenty-fourth  of  February,  had  an  elaborately  worded  route, 
but  which,  on  account  of  reference  to  temporary  local  objects,  has  little 
meaning  to-day.  But  it  is  plain  that  the  authorized  line  commenced 
on  the  southerly  bank  of  the  Westfield  River  where  the  same  crossed 
the  line   between   the   towns   of  Westfield   and  Russell,    and   followed 

[73] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

thence  up  the  Westfield  River  and  the  West  Branch  of  the  same  to 
some  point  in  Chester.  From  there  it  was  allowed  to  take  over  an 
existing  road,  locally  known  as  the  "  Government  road,"  to  Becket 
Village,  and  thence  by  another  existing  road  from  Becket  to  the  Pitts- 
field  line. 

No  evidence  has  been  found  that  the  section  over  the  "  Government 
road"  was  ever  utilized  by  the  turnpike  corporation;  in  fact,  the 
Berkshire  records  show  that  the  company  was  allowed,  in  1802,  to 
abandon  a  section  of  its  layout  in  Becket,  but  it  did  improve  and  operate 
the  road  from  Becket  to  the 'Pittsfield  line.  There  must  have  been 
serious  construction  difficulties  in  rendering  the  "  Government  road  " 
suitable  for  a  turnpike  to  induce  the  company  to  give  up  that  section. 
That  there  was  business  enough  to  make  it  remunerative  is  clearly 
shown  by  the  fact  that,  in  the  year  following  the  abandonment  by  the 
Eighth,  another  corporation  was  formed,  which  built  a  turnpike  con- 
necting the  same  terminals  and  closely  paralleling  the  "  Government 
road  " ;  and  by  the  many  later  efforts  to  improve  this  same  route,  of 
which  more  on  subsequent  pages. 

The  Eighth,  as  constructed,  followed  up  the  Westfield  River,  as 
already  described,  to  a  junction  with  the  Becket  Turnpike  in  the  south- 
west corner  of  the  town  of  Chester.  Then,  from  a  point  in  the  south 
central  part  of  the  town  of  Becket,  it  ran  northerly  across  that  town 
northwesterly  across  Washington,  and  across  the  southwesterly  corner 
of  Dalton  to  the  Pittsfield  line.  The  portion  of  the  road  from  Rus- 
sell's westerly  boundary  to  where  the  Becket  Turnpike  later  took  up 
the  burden  was  built  in  time  to  receive  the  approval  of  the  Hampshire 
court  of  sessions  at  its  August  term  in  1801,  but  it  was  not  until  March 
of  1805  that  a  committee  was  appointed  to  inspect  and  approve  the 
part  built  over  an  old  highway  from  Becket  to  the  Pittsfield  line. 

In  1 8 19  the  corporation  was  allowed  to  abandon  the  Becket-Pittsfield 
section,  and  at  the  same  time  they  were  required  to  make  an  alteration 
in  the  road  between  the  foot  of  Becket  Mountain  and  the  easterly  end 
of  the  Becket  Turnpike.  That  this  was  needed  for  the  public  conven- 
ience is  evident  from  the  fact  that  two  years  were  allowed,  in  which 
two  thousand  dollars  should  be  spent  on  such  alteration,  penalty  for 
failure  being  reduction  of  tolls  at  one  gate  by  one  half.  In  1838  the 
company  obtained  permission  to  improve  its  grades  by  cutting  out  a 
section  on  Dickinson's  Hill  and  substituting  a  length  of  road  in  a  better 
location.  The  balance  of  the  Eighth  Massachusetts  was  thrown  open 
to  the  public  in  April,  1844. 

Four  miles  beyond  Westfield  the  west-bound  traveler  on  the  Boston 
and  Albany  line  crosses  the  boundary  line  between  the  towns  of  Russell 
and  Montgomery,  where  the  latter  town  draws  down  to  a  point  at  the 
river.  On  the  opposite  bank  may  be  seen  the  place  where  the  turnpike 
began,  and  the  old  road  itself  may  be  seen,  now  on  one  side  of  the 
train  and  then  on  the  other,  at  various  spots  all  the  way  to  Chester, 

[74] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

although  many  sections  of  it  must  have  been  effaced  during  the  railroad 
construction.  Opposite  Woronoco  station  a  tollgate  formerly  stood, 
and  the  corner  of  the  roads,  which  can  be  seen  from  the  train,  is  where 
the  Hampden  and  Berkshire  Turnpike  branched  off  from  the  Eighth 
Massachusetts. 

Above  Woronoco,  formerly  known  as  Fairfield,  the  river  swings  in 
a  wide  semicircle  with  a  steep  hill  rising  abruptly  from  its  southerly 
bank,  and  carrying  the  old  road  shelved  in  its  side.  Along  this  section 
the  ambitious  western  extension  of  the  Springfield  street-railway  system 
is  laid. 

THE    NINTH    MASSACHUSETTS   TURNPIKE 

It  has  been  noticed,  no  doubt,  that  so  far  all  the  projects  were  in 
the  interests  of  the  western  part  of  the  state,  although  the  Sixth  had  its 
terminus  as  far  east  as  Worcester.  But  now  comes  a  turnpike  partly 
in  Norfolk  County,  and  affecting  Boston,  inasmuch  as  it  sought  the 
improvement  of  the  through  route  to  Hartford  from  that  city. 

The  Ninth  Massachusetts  Turnpike  Corporation,  chartered  Feb- 
ruary 25,  1800,  built  its  road  "  from  the  end  of  the  turnpike  road  in 
Thompson,  in  the  State  of  Connecticut,  where  it  adjoins  the  line  of 
this  commonwealth  in  the  Town  of  Douglass,  in  the  County  of  Worces- 
ter, to  the  east  line  of  the  Town  of  Bellingham  in  the  County  of 
Norfolk." 

The  length  was  about  twenty-two  miles  and  the  cost  was  certified  to 
have  been  $13,222.83,  or  about  $600  a  mile. 

That  this  project  had  been  brewing  in  the  minds  of  local  men  for 
some  time  appears  from  the  town  records  of  Mendon,  from  which  we 
learn  that  a  committee  was  appointed,  in  August,  1796,  to  go  to  Ash- 
ford,  Connecticut,  to  meet  the  commissioners  of  that  state,  who  had 
been  appointed  to  survey  and  lay  out  a  road  from  Hartford.  Philip 
Ammidon  was  one  of  this  committee,  and  later  was  the  first  named 
among  the  incorporators  of  the  Ninth;  and  since  to  him  was  addressed 
the  long  letter  from  Thomas  Dwight,  to  which  reference  was  had  in 
writing  of  the  First  Massachusetts,  it  seems  that  the  investors  in  the 
Ninth  had  ample  warning  of  the  failure  of  the  First  to  yield  revenue. 
It  will  be  recalled  that  Mr.  Dwight  expressed  the  opinion  that  two  dol- 
lars a  rod  was  too  much  to  pay  for  a  road,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note 
that  the  recipient  of  the  advice  obtained  an  average  of  about  one  dollar 
and  eighty-eight  cents  a  rod  on  his  road. 

In  1780,  when  Milford  was  set  off  from  Mendon,  an  old  road  was 
designated  as  the  boundary,  Ballou's  "  History  of  Milford  "  tells  us, 
and  the  two  towns  were  burdened  with  equal  shares  of  its  maintenance. 
Such  has  ever  been  an  annoyance  to  towns  so  burdened,  and  it  must 
have  been  welcome  to  each  town  when  the  Ninth  Massachusetts  offered 
to  include  that  section  of  road  in  its  turnpike.    The  same  boundary  now 

[75] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

exists  between  the  towns  of  Hopedale  and  Mendon,  another  survivor 
of  the  turnpike  days.  The  old  road  is  known  to-day  as  Hartford  Street, 
in  Bellingham;  Westcott's  Road,  in  Mendon;  and  apparently  Northeast 
and  Southwest  Main  streets,  in  Douglas. 

Returns  of  financial  matters  were  made  in  1802  to  18 19  and  from 
1824  to  1827,  during  which  years  the  average  net  earnings  of  the  road 
were  $121.20  per  year,  or  nine  tenths  of  one  per  cent,  on  the  cost  of 
the  turnpike.  Returns  were  omitted  from  1820  to  1823,  both  inclu- 
sive, but  a  suggestion  that  those  years  were  no  fatter  than  the  ones  for 
which  reports  were  made  is  found  in  an  act  passed  in  1823,  by  which 
an  additional  gate  was  allowed  to  be  erected  in  the  westerly  part  of 
Mendon. 

The  turnpike  became  a  county  road  in  Douglas  in  1831,  and  the 
portion  in  Norfolk  County,  or  in  the  town  of  Bellingham,  was  laid  out 
by  the  county  commissioners  in  1833,  while  alterations  were  decreed 
on  portions  in  the  other  towns.  At  a  town  meeting  held  June  17,  1831, 
we  find  in  Metcalf's  "  Annals  of  Mendon,"  it  was  voted  to  oppose  the 
discontinuance  of  the  Ninth  Massachusetts  as  a  toll  road,  and  a  com- 
mittee was  chosen  to  conduct  such  opposition,  but  that  vote  was  re- 
scinded at  a  meeting  in  November  of  the  same  year.  The  records  of 
Worcester  County,  of  which  Mendon  and  Uxbridge  are  a  part,  give 
no  date  for  the  final  freeing  of  the  road  in  those  towns. 

The  Ninth  Massachusetts  was  a  link  in  an  important  line  of  turn- 
pikes, which  extended  from  Boston  to  Hartford  over  the  "  Middle 
Road,"  by  which  the  distance  was  one  hundred  and  six  miles,  according 
to  the  Old  Farmers'  Almanac.  On  this  route  was  located  landlord 
Taft's  tavern  in  Uxbridge,  the  service  in  which  so  pleased  President 
Washington,  when  he  stopped  there  on  his  tour  in  1789,  that  he  after- 
wards sent  presents  to  the  host's  two  daughters,  accompanied  by  a  most 
graceful  letter. 

THE   TENTH    MASSACHUSETTS   TURNPIKE 

The  Tenth  Massachusetts  Turnpike  Corporation,  created  by  an  act 
passed  June  16,  1800,  was  generally  known  as  the  Farmington  River 
Company,  on  account  of  its  road  following  the  bank  of  that  stream  for 
so  large  a  part  of  its  course.  It  clearly  was  designed  to  form  a  link  in 
a  turnpike  system  connecting  Hartford  with  Albany,  as  the  Massachu- 
setts portion  did  not  pass  through  any  important  centers  except  Lenox 
courthouse.  In  fact,  the  road  was  locally  known  also  as  the  Hart- 
ford and  Albany  turnpike,  by  which  name  it  is  mentioned  in  a  "  History 
of  the  County  of  Berkshire,"  published  in  1829.  The  road  commenced 
at  the  termination  of  a  Connecticut  turnpike,  on  the  state  boundary  line 
where  the  Farmington  River  crossed  the  same,  and  followed  up  the 
valley  of  that  river,  now  in  Sandisfield,  then  in  Tolland,  through  Otis 
and  Becket,  to  the  east  side  of  Greenwater  Pond;  thence  through  Lee, 

[76] 


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THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

Lenox,  Richmond,  and  Hancock,  to  the  New  York  line.  Southerly  from 
Becket  the  road  seems  to  be  locally  known  as  the  "  Old  Turnpike  " 
to-day,  while  the  portion  in  Lenox  appears  to  be  called  Walker  Street 
and  Cliffwood  Street,  and  Richmond  and  Hancock  folks  know  it  as 
Lebanon  Road.  It  passed  through  that  portion  of  Lee  called  "  Cape 
Street." 

The  length  of  turnpike  was  about  thirty-six  miles  and  the  cost  of 
construction  was  about  $1340  per  mile. 

In  1 8 14  concessions  were  made,  provided  that  persons  under  certain 
conditions  should  pass  free,  and  the  same  act  provided  that  anyone 
falsely  claiming  exemption  on  account  of  those  conditions  should  be 
liable  to  the  corporation,  in  an  action  of  debt,  for  the  sum  of  ten  dollars. 
In  1 8 19  the  corporation  was  allowed  to  discontinue  all  of  its  road 
westerly  of  the  Stockbridge  road  in  Lee,  about  one  third  of  its  system, 
and  increased  rates  of  toll  were  granted  on  the  balance.  In  1840  and 
in  1842  acts  were  passed  authorizing  changes  in  the  location  of  the 
road,  the  two  totaling  only  about  four  hundred  rods,  which  seems  small 
business  for  a  legislature. 

By  1854  the  turnpike  had  become  so  badly  out  of  repair  that  various 
suits  had  been  commenced  for  the  annulment  of  the  charter,  and  the 
legislature  of  that  year  took  drastic  steps  toward  forcing  proper  main- 
tenance by  the  company.  Even  the  franchise  itself  was  made  liable  to 
attachment  in  suits  for  damages  sustained  by  fault  in  the  road.  The 
county  commissioners  were  empowered  to  throw  open  the  gates,  that 
all  might  pass  free,  whenever  they  deemed  the  road  to  be  out  of  repair; 
and  they  were  further  empowered  to  lay  out  the  road  as  a  public  high- 
way, at  their  discretion,  paying  to  the  corporation  the  amount  awarded 
by  three  referees.  The  Berkshire  records  show  that  the  road  was  laid 
out  as  a  public  highway  on  petition  of  William  Taylor,  in  September, 
1855.  Nothing  is  known  about  the  financial  part  of  the  corporation's 
affairs,  as  no  returns  were  ever  filed  at  the  state  house. 

THE   THIRD   NEW    HAMPSHIRE   TURNPIKE 

Four  acts  were  passed  in  the  year  1801,  the  first  on  June  18,  allow- 
ing the  proprietors  of  the  Third  New  Hampshire  turnpike  road  to 
extend  their  road  into  Massachusetts  "  from  the  line  of  the  State  of  New 
Hampshire,  on  the  north  side  of  the  Town  of  Townsend,  communi- 
cating with  a  turnpike  road  laid  out  in  that  state  by  said  corporation, 
to  the  county  road  in  said  town  near  Goss'  Bridge,  so  called,  a  distance 
of  about  four  miles." 

The  Third  New  Hampshire  was  chartered  in  that  state  on  December 
27,  1799,  to  build  from  Bellows  Falls,  through  Keene,  toward  Boston, 
and  its  road  appears  to  have  entered  Massachusetts  in  the  northwest 
corner  of  Townsend,  close  to  Walker  Brook,  and  run  thence  directly 
to  Townsend  Center.    After  it  was  built,  as  Cutter  tells  in  his  "  History 

[78] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

of  Jaffrey,  New  Hampshire,"  it  became  common  practice  among  the 
inhabitants  of  the  region  traversed  to  carry  products  to  Boston  in  their 
own  teams  after  snow,  fell,  and  it  was  not  unusual  to  see  twenty  to  forty 
sleds  or  sleighs  journeying  over  the  turnpike  together.  Dearborn  and 
Emerson  established  a  line  of  stages  between  Boston  and  Walpole,  New 
Hampshire,  in  1803,  passing  over  the  Third  New  Hampshire,  through 
Jaffrey  and  Keene. 

In  1824  the  New  Hampshire  legislature  authorized  the  corporation 
to  surrender  its  charter  and  make  its  road  free,  and  in  1826  Massachu- 
setts followed  suit. 

So  far  all  applications  for  charters  have  been  marked  by  sincerity 
of  purpose  and  further  ability  to  carry  out  the  intention,  but  many  of 
the  charters  granted  in  the  later  years  were  never  utilized.  Some  of 
them  are  readily  detected,  while  others  are  hidden  in  the  mists  of  long 
ago.  One  of  the  former  class  is  the  Eleventh  Massachusetts,  which 
was  chartered  June  19,  1801,  to  build  from  the  Connecticut  line  through 
Granville  to  Blandford  meeting-house,  and  thence  to  a  connection  with 
the  Eighth  Massachusetts  in  Becket.  A  plan  has  been  found  showing 
the  route  proposed  between  Blandford  and  the  state  line,  but  roads  ap- 
pear to-day  over  but  a  part  of  such. route.  The  records  of  Hampshire 
court  of  sessions  show  that  a  location  of  the  road  was  made  in  1801 
and  a  change  in  the  location  in  1802,  but  nothing  further.  That  the 
road  was  never  built  is  plainly  shown  by  the  act  passed  in  1809,  in- 
corporating the  Granville  Turnpike  Corporation  and  granting  it  the 
route  laid  out  by  the  Eleventh  Massachusetts. 

THE   TWELFTH    MASSACHUSETTS   TURNPIKE 

But  better  luck  attended  the  promoters  of  the  Twelfth  Massachu- 
setts Turnpike  Corporation,  which  received  its  franchise  on  the  same 
date  as  the  Eleventh.  The  road  of  this  company  was  to  be  built  from 
the  Connecticut  line  in  the  southeasterly  part  of  Sheffield,  northwesterly 
across  that  town  and  across  Egremont  to  the  easterly  end  of  the  Hudson 
Turnpike,  the  road  of  a  New  York  corporation.  In  1803  the  location 
was  made  by  a  committee  of  the  Berkshire  court  of  sessions,  and 
authority  was  given  for  a  branch  of  this  turnpike  at  its  southeasterly 
end,  under  which  a  road  was  built,  about  two  miles  long,  to  another  point 
on  the  Connecticut  line.  Another  branch  was  built,  without  any  author- 
ization as  far  as  now  appears,  leaving  the  main  road  at  a  point  in  the 
easterly  part  of  Egremont  and  running  northerly  across  the  south- 
westerly corner  of  Alford  to  the  New  York  line,  on  the  way  to  Albany. 

The  Twelfth  evidently  had  trouble  with  "  shunpikes,"  or  feared  it 
would  have,  for  we  find  it  enacted  into  law  in  1806  that  no  landowner 
should  allow  a  road  to  be  maintained  on  his  land,  parallel  to  the  turnpike, 
within  forty  rods  of  any  gate.    Penalties  were  also  provided  for  any  per- 

[79] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

son  who  injured  the  road,  fifty  to  one  hundred  dollars  being  the  amount 
to  be  inflicted,  and  other  penalties  for  evasions  of  toll  were  specified. 

The  Twelfth  seems  to  have  been  locally  known  as  the  Litchfield 
Turnpike,  probably  because  its  Connecticut  connection,  the  Greenwoods 
Turnpike,  traversed  Litchfield  County.  The  route  described  in  the 
charter  is  unique  inasmuch  as  it  is  located  almost  entirely  by  reference 
to  the  dwelling  houses  of  various  men,  and  in  only  one  case  gives  the 
town  in  which  a  house  is  to  be  found. 

This  road,  with  its  Connecticut  connections,  the  Greenwoods  and 
Talcott  Mountain  turnpikes  and  its  extension  in  New  York,  formed 
for  over  half  a  century  the  great  highway  between  Hartford  and  Albany 
and  was  a  heavily  traveled  route. 

By  the  branch  authorized  in  1803  connection  was  later  made  with 
the  Warren  Turnpike  in  Connecticut,  over  which  access  was  had  to  the 
lower  Housatonic  Valley. 

The  cost  of  construction  was  reported  as  $12,771.18.  The  length 
being  twenty  miles  makes  the  unit  cost  about  $640  a  mile.  In  1857  the 
company  petitioned  the  county  to  take  the  road  and  it  became  free. 

June  19,  1 80 1,  the  ominously  named  Thirteenth  Massachusetts 
Turnpike  Corporation  was  formed,  to  build  "  from  the  line  of  the  state 
of  Connecticut,  near  Holmes'  Mill,  by  the  meeting-house  in  the  middle 
parish  in  Granville,  to  the  northwesterly  part  of  the  Town  of  Loudon, 
in  the  County  of  Berkshire." 

Apparently  the  blight  of  the  unlucky  number  could  not  be  overcome, 
for  no  further  record  has  been  found  either  in  state  or  county  records, 
and  we  are  obliged  to  include  this  turnpike  among  those  probably  never 
built.     Loudon,  by  the  way,  became  Otis  in  18 10. 

THE    SALEM    TURNPIKE 

A  cursory  glance  at  the  map  will  suffice  to  show  the  difficulties  which 
beset  land  travelers  essaying  to  journey  between  Boston  and  Salem  in 
the  early  days.  The  many  broad  creeks  meandering  back  into  the 
country  and  the  many  swamps,  still  to  be  seen,  made  the  trip  one  of 
wider  detour  and  extra  mileage.  The  passage  by  sea,  passing  outside 
of  Marblehead,  Nahant,  and  Winthrop,  must  have  been  exasperatingly 
long,  and  no  doubt  travelers  by  either  route  begrudged  the  time  con- 
sumed in  passing  from  place  to  place,  only  thirteen  miles  apart.  Tradi- 
tion has  it  that  the  first  party  of  Salem  people  who  journeyed  to  Boston 
by  land  were  four  days  on  the  way,  and  publicly  gave  thanks  for  their 
safe  return.  Spasmodic  efforts  to  maintain  a  stage  between  those  places 
commenced  as  early  as  1766,  but  nothing  regular  or  satisfactory  was 
accomplished. 

But  having  "  got  along  "  for  nearly  two  hundred  years  with  such 
poor  accommodations  was  no  argument  for  the  Salem  people  that  they 
[80] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

should  continue  thus  handicapped,  and  on  March  6,  1802,  we  find  the 
Salem  Turnpike  and  Chelsea  Bridge  Corporation  formed  to  build 

a  road  beginning  near  Buff  urn's  Corner,  so-called  in  Salem,  thence  to  be  continued 
through  the  Salem  Great  Pastures,  so-called ;  thence  by  the  southeasterly  side  of 
Farrington's  Hill,  so-called,  in  Lynn,  over  Breed's  Island,  in  Lynn  Marshes,  and  by 
the  southeast  side  of  Cheever's  Hill,  so-called,  in  Chelsea,  to  a'place  on  the  Chelsea 
side  of  Mystic  River,  between  Winnesimmit  Ferryways  and  Dr.  Aaron  Dexter's 
gate,  and  over  said  river  to  a  place  on  the  Charlestown  side  thereof,  north  of,  and 
near  to,  the  Navy  Yard ;  and  thence  to  said  Charles  River  Bridge  in  Charlestown. 

And  the  company  was  further  empowered  to  build 

bridges  over  the  rivers  and  waters  between  said  Buffum's  Corner  and  Charles  River, 

a  most  necessary  provision,  in  view  of  the  nature  of  the  country  to  be 
traversed. 

By  an  act  passed  February  26,  1803,  the  route  of  the  company 
was  shortened  and  it  was  allowed  to  build  only  to  "  Main  Street,  in 
Charlestown,"  or  in  other  words,  to  City  Square.  The  road,  as  built 
in  conformity  with  the  above  description,  formed  what  are  now  known 
as  Highland  Avenue,  in  Salem;  Western  Avenue,  in  Lynn;  Broadway, 
in  Saugus,  Revere,  and  Chelsea;  Chelsea  Street,  in  Charlestown;  and 
included  Chelsea  Bridge,  over  the  Mystic  River. 

We  read  in  Lewis'  "  History  of  Lynn  " : 

On  Thursday  the  23rd  of  September  (1803)  the  Salem  Turnpike  was  opened 
and  began  to  receive  toll.  The  Lynn  Hotel  was  built  this  year.  The  original  num- 
ber of  shares  in  this  turnpike  were  1200,  and  the  original  cost  was  $189,000.  This 
road  will  become  the  property  of  the  Commonwealth  when  the  proprietors  shall 
have  received  the  whole  cost  with  12%  interest;  and  the  bridge  over  Mystic  River, 
when  70  years  shall  be  accomplished.  This  turnpike,  for  nearly  four  miles,  passes 
over  a  tract  of  salt  marsh  which  is  frequently  covered  by  the  tide.  When  it  was 
first  projected  many  persons  esteemed  it  impracticable  to  build  a  good  road  on  such 
a  foundation.  One  person  testified  that  he  had  run  a  pole  down  to  the  depth  of  25 
feet.    Yet  this  turnpike  proves  to  be  one  of  the  most  excellent  roads  in  America. 

The  length  of  the  road,  exclusive  of  the  bridge  over  Mystic  River, 
was  twelve  and  one  half  miles;  and  the  cost  was  officially  given  as 
$182,063.21,  or  about  $14,600  a  mile. 

June  1,  1 8 13,  was  the  day  on  which  this  turnpike  did  the  greatest 
day's  business  in  its  history.  This  was  the  day  of  the  famous  sea  fight 
between  the  Chesapeake  and  Shannon  off  Salem  Bay,  and  one  hundred 
and  twenty  stages  passed  over  the  turnpike  that  day  filled  with  passen- 
gers eager  to  witness  the  combat  from  the  commanding  hilltops  of 
Salem.1 

Besides  the  sections  through  swamps,  described  above,  there  were 
other  sections  even  more  difficult  to  build.  There  seemed  to  be  no 
medium;  it  was  either  soft  marsh  or  the  hardest  of  hard  rock,  and  it 
seems  incredible  that  the  promoters  should  have  dreamed  of  ever  earn- 
ing dividends  on  so  expensive  a  proposition.     But  nearly  five  per  cent 

John  F.  Browning  in  the  Salem  News,  January  15,  1915. 

[8l] 


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THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

net  was  averaged  down  to  1820,  and  five  and  seven  eighths  per  cent  was 
the  average  for  the  six  years  preceding  the  opening  of  the  Eastern 
Railroad.  After  that  competition  began,  the  earnings  fell  at  once 
nearly  one  half  and  steadily  dropped  from  that  date  until  1868.  On 
June  5  of  that  year  the  legislature  declared  the  turnpike  a  public 
highway. 

This  corporation  filed  returns  in  accordance  with  the  spirit  of  the 
law,  and  only  those  for  the  years  1809,  18 10,  and  181 1  are  missing. 
The  following  table  of  averages  is  compiled  from  the  returns  and  shows 
the  net  earnings  of  the  road  in  percentages  of  its  cost: 

1804  to   1808 average  5.0% 

1812  to  1818 "        4-9% 

1819  to  1828 "        3-4% 

1829  to  1838 "        5-o6% 

1838  Eastern  Railroad  opened. 

1839  to   1848 average  2.46% 

1849  to   1858    .    .    .    .'    .         "         1.62% 
1859  to   1867 "         1.41% 

1 8 12  saw  the  greatest  net  earnings,  seven  and  two  tenths  per  cent,  with 
a  gross  business  of  $16,696.79,  and  expenses  of  $3504.68.  The  leanest 
year  was  1861,  when  the  net  earnings  amounted  to  only  three  tenths  of 
one  per  cent,  the  gross  receipts  being  $6889.61  and  the  expenses 
$6385.88.  The  largest  year's  business  was  done  in  1836,  when  the  tolls 
totaled  $17,671.46;  but  expenditures  of  $5577.15  held  the  net  proceeds 
down  to  six  and  six  tenths  per  cent.  The  accompanying  chart  shows 
graphically  the  financial  history  of  the  Salem  Turnpike  as  revealed  by 
the  Massachusetts  archives. 

Although  a  part  of  the  same  franchise,  the  Chelsea  Bridge  was 
treated  as  a  separate  institution  and  returns  for  that  were  filed  sepa- 
rately. Its  cost  is  given  as  $55,469.46,  and  returns  were  filed  spas- 
modically.    The  net  earnings  averaged  as  follows : 

1804  to  1807 average  11.3% 

1814  to  1816 "  6.17% 

1829  to  1838 "        10. % 

1839  to  1848 "  6.1% 

1849  to  1855 7-45% 

1859  to  1861 "  6.45% 

Strange  to  say,  the  leanest  year,  1861,  for  the  turnpike  was  the  banner 
year  for  the  bridge,  as  it  is  recorded  that  the  bridge  collections  then 
totaled  $11,010.56,  with  expenses  of  $4832.90. 

In  1825  the  corporation  was  authorized  to  convey  such  land  to  the 
United  States  as  might  be  necessary  to  make  the  Navy  Yard  boundaries 
straight,  and  to  buy  enough  other  land  "to  compensate  it."  In  1831 
the  discontinuance  of  the  turnpike  between  Charlestown  Square  and 
the  northwest  corner  of  the  Navy  Yard  was  allowed.     The  town  was 

[84] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    MASSACHUSETTS 

to  accept  the  road  within  four  months,  have  it  well  paved  as  far  as 
Caswell's  Corner  and  the  rest  of  the  distance  put  in  good  repair,  in 
return  for  which  the  corporation  was  to  pay  the  town  $1000.  And 
thereafter  the  corporation  was  to  be  allowed  to  maintain  a  guide  board 
in  Charlestown  Square  directing  travelers  to  its  turnpike. 

June  5,  1868,  the  legislature  declared  the  turnpike  and  the  bridges 
a  public  highway.  The  Lynn  and  Boston  Street  Railway  Company, 
chartered  April  6,  1859,  had  been  allowed  to  lay  its  tracks  along  the 
turnpike,  and  the  act  provided  for  the  appointment  of  commissioners 
who  were  to  determine  what  amount  the  street-railway  company  should 
pay  toward  the  maintenance  of  the  new  highway.  By  the  same  act  the 
county  commissioners  of  Essex  were  required  to  make  public  six  toll 
bridges  over  the  Merrimac  River  and  one  between  Beverly  and  Salem. 

For  its  entire  length  to-day  the  Salem  Turnpike  is  a  busy  and  im- 
portant thoroughfare,  being  the  principal  street  of  the  cities  of  Chelsea 
and  Revere  and  passing  through  the  manufacturing  district  of  West 
Lynn. 

In  the  northwesterly  corner  of  Lynn  is  stilJ  to  be  seen  the  famous 
"  Floating  Bridge,"  a  unique  and  unprecedented  piece  of  construction. 
Collins  Pond,  seventeen  acres  in  area,  lay  across  the  route  selected  for 
the  road,  and  being  of  great  depth  with  a  soft,  peaty  bottom  offered 
serious  obstacles  to  any  known  form  of  bridge  construction.  So  a  new 
method  was  evolved  by  which  a  long  raft  was  built,  making  a  continu- 
ous floating  structure  across  the  pond  five  hundred  and  eleven  feet  long 
and  twenty-eight  feet  wide. 

The  bridge  was  built  in  three  sections  on  the  shore  of  the  pond  and 
floated  into  place.  First  a  course  of  logs  hewn  on  the  upper  sides  was 
placed.  Then  a  course  of  timbers  one  foot  square  was  laid  at  right 
angles  upon  it,  the  operation  being  repeated  until  there  were  five  such 
layers,  when  a  top  course  of  plank  was  laid,  making  the  whole  bridge 
about  five  and  one  half  feet  deep.  The  timbers  were  fastened  together 
with  dowels,  which  allowed  an  undulating  movement  as  loads  passed 
along  the  surface,  and  provided  flexibility  between  the  fixed  ends  on 
the  banks  and  the  portion  affected  by  the  variations  of  water  level  in 
the  pond. 

Construction  of  this  bridge  delayed  the  completion  of  the  turnpike 
about  a  year,  the  bridge  being  built  in  1804  at  a  reported  cost  of 
$55,469.  Turnpike  operation,  however,  did  not  wait  its  completion, 
a  detour  being  provided  around  the  pond  and  over  what  is  now  Waitt 
Avenue.  Of  late  years  renewal  of  the  planking  has  been  necessary  about 
every  three  years,  and  the  usual  custom  has  been  to  add  it  to  the  worn 
timbers  already  in  place  until  the  bridge  is  now  said  to  be  over  fifteen 
feet  thick. 

A  large  drove  of  cattle  once  attempted  to  cross  the  bridge  stopping 
on  the  way  to  drink.  Many  of  them  gathering  on  one  side  and  thrust- 
ing their  heads  under  the  railing  caused  the  bridge  to  list,  and  the  railing, 

[85] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


catching  their  horns,  held  the  heads  under  water  until  they  were 
drowned.1 

In  later  years  the  construction  of  a  high-speed  electric  railroad 
called  for  another  bridge  across  this  pond,  but  the  invention  of  the  pile- 
driver  made  the  second  effort  less  picturesque.  A  double-track  pile 
trestle  is  now  to  be  found  close  beside  the  "  Floating  Bridge." 

The  portion  over  the  Lynn  marshes  still  traverses  a  waste  region, 
although  the  roadbed  has  been  brought  to  a  scientific  excellence  and 
firmness.  Breed's  Island,  mentioned  in  the  act  of  incorporation,  is  still 
in  evidence,  the  hard  ground  being  noticeable  at  the  angle  in  the  road 
about  halfway  across  the  marsh. 

According  to  Tracy's  "  History  of  Essex  County  "  one  tollgate  was 
located  on  this  island,  a  point  of  great  advantage  in  preventing  shun- 
piking.  Another  gate  stood  on  Chelsea  Bridge,  while  a  third  was 
located  in  Salem  Great  Pastures  about  two  miles  from  Salem.  Tracy 
says  that  the  Salem  gate  collected  $5300  in  the  year  1805.  That  was 
about  forty-three  per  cent  of  the  total  receipts  of  the  road  for  that  year 
and  more  than  double  the  total  expenses. 

As  Broadway  in  Chelsea,  the  turnpike  felt  the  full  force  of  the 
disastrous  conflagration  which  swept  that  city  in  April,  1908,  burning 
across  the  main  avenue  and  destroying  several  blocks  on  each  side. 

Salemites  of  years  ago  used  to  tell  gleefully  of  one  of  their  fellow 
citizens  who,  returning  late  one  night  in  a  snowstorm  along  the  turn- 
pike, was  suddenly  confronted  by  a  burly  figure  which  with  extended 
arm  seemed  vigorously  to  demand  "  your  money  or  your  life."  Mind- 
ful of  the  proverb  which  defines  the  better  part  of  valor,  the  traveler 
hastily  tossed  his  watch  and  purse  to  the  dimly  seen  figure  and  retreated. 
Next  morning  with  reinforcements  he  returned  to  the  scene  of  his  dis- 
comfiture only  to  experience  bitter  mortification  when  his  valuable  prop- 
erty was  found  in  the  horse  trough  at  the  foot  of  the  old-fashioned 
pump,  which  still  held  its  ground  with  handle  horizontal. 


THE    NORFOLK   AND   BRISTOL   TURNPIKE 

The  Columbian  Centinel  of  January  8,  1800,  made  the  following 
announcement : 

New  York  and  Providence  Mail  Stages 

Leave  Major  Hatches,  Royal  Exchange  Coffee  House,  in  State  Street,  every 
morning  at  eight  o'clock,  arrive  at  Providence  at  six  the  same  day ;  leave  Providence 
at  four  o'clock  for  New  York,  Tuesdays,  Thursdays,  and  Saturdays.  Stage  book 
kept  at  the  bar  for  the  entrance  of  the  names.  Expreffes  forwarded  to  any  part  of 
the  continent  at  the  shorteft  notice,  on  reafonable  terms:  horfes  kept  ready  for  that 
purpofe  only.  All  favors  gratefully  acknowledged  by  the  Public's  moft  humble 
servant 

Stephen  Fuller,  Jr. 

1  Paper  read  before  the  Essex  Institute  by  C.  J.  H.  Woodbury,  1898. 

[86] 


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THE   TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

Ten  hours  from  Boston  to  Providence,  and  the  rest  of  a  week  to 
reach  New  York,  was  the  time  required  at  the  opening  of  the  nineteenth 
century,  so  no  wonder  the  spirit  of  progress  presently  manifested  itself. 
Hence  we  find  the  following  petition  presented  at  the  1802  session  of 
the  Massachusetts  general  court: 

Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts 

To  the   Honorable  the   Senate  and  House  of   Representatives  in  General   Court 
assembled : 

The  subscribers  humbly  shew 
That  it  is  expedient  that  the  public  roads  should  be  made  smooth  and  easy  for  travel- 
lers and  for  the  conveyance  of  goods  and  commodities  as  well  as  produce.  That  the 
road  between  Boston  and  Providence  is  much  used  and  of  great  public  accommoda- 
tion ;  but  it  is  in  a  very  bad  state  and  they  conceive  is  only  to  be  made  good  by  a 
Turnpike,  that  being  the  cheapest,  and  most  equitable,  and  just  mode  of  making  the 
needed  improvement.  Wherefore  they  pray  that  they,  with  others,  may  be  incor- 
porated as  a  Turnpike  Company  to  improve  the  road  from  the  line  of  the  State  of 
Rhode  Island  at  Pawtucket  Bridge  or  falls  to  the  Court  House  in  Dedham,  and  that 
due  authority  may  be  given  to  straiten  the  road. 

And  as  in  duty  bound,  will  ever  pray 

Ephraim  Starkweather  and  thirty-two  others. 

The  incorporators  comprised  men  of  prominence  in  their  respective 
towns  from  Boston  to  Pawtucket,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  several 
of  them  were  in  controversy  with  the  corporation  two  years  later  over 
the  amount  to  be  paid  for  land  taken. 

In  answer  to  the  petition  the  legislature  duly  granted  an  act  of  in- 
corporation on  the  eighth  of  March,  1802,  and  authorized  the  building 
of  a  road  by  the  Norfolk  and  Bristol  Turnpike  Corporation 

from  the  Court  House  in  Dedham,  in  the  county  of  Norfolk,  to  the  North  parish 
meeting-house  in  Attleborough  in  the  county  of  Bristol,  and  from  thence  to  Paw- 
tucket Bridge,  so-called,  and  for  keeping  the  same  in  repair.  The  said  turnpike  to 
begin  at  the  Court  House  in  Dedham  aforesaid,  and  thence  to  run  as  near  a  strait 
line  from  the  said  Court  House  in  Dedham  to  the  said  Pawtucket  Bridge,  as  a  Com- 
mittee appointed  by  the  General  Court,  shall,  with  due  regard  to  the  nature  of  the 
ground,  direct;  and  which  Committee  is  hereby  authorized  to  locate  the  same  road 
accordingly  .  .  . 

On  the  following  day  the  committee  provided  in  the  act  above  was 
appointed:  Salem  Town,  Esq.,  from  the  senate  and  Messrs.  Kendall 
and  Rice  of  Hingham  from  the  house.  Of  Salem  Town  we  have 
already  heard  as  an  incorporator  of  the  First  Massachusetts.  He  was 
a  man  of  note,  and  at  this  time  was  serving  in  the  senate  for  the  second 
time  after  having  declined  advancement  to  the  council.  He  had  been 
a  quartermaster  in  the  revolutionary  army,  according  to  Daniels'  "  His- 
tory of  Oxford,"  and  later  was  the  second  major  general  of  the  Massa- 
chusetts militia.  He  served  seven  years  in  the  house  and  eight  in  the 
senate,  being  first  elected  to  the  latter  body  as  a  successor  to  Moses 
Gill,  who  was  advanced  to  a  lieutenant  governor  in  1794.    In  1802  and 

[87] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


1803  he  served  as  a  member  of  the  governor's  council.1  Besides  his 
connection  with  the  First  Massachusetts  and  with  the  Norfolk  and 
Bristol  he  later  appeared  either  as  an  incorporator,  or  on  the  committee 
for  laying  out,  of  several  other  turnpike  corporations. 

The  first  meeting  of  the  corporation  was  held  March  30,  1802,  at 
the  house  of  Joseph  Holmes  in  Attleboro.  Colonel  Israel  Hatch  was 
moderator  and  Fisher  Ames  was  elected  president.  The  number  of 
shares  was  fixed  at  eight  hundred,  of  a  par  value  of  fifty  dollars  each. 
The  number  of  shares  was  afterwards  increased  and  assessments 
amounting  to  two  hundred  dollars  per  share  were  laid,  but  only  nine 
hundred  and  sixty-four  shares  were  thus  paid  in,  and  that  number  con- 
stituted the  capital  stock  of  the  company  throughout. 

Colonel  Israel  Hatch  was  a  native  of  Attleboro,  and  at  the  out- 
break of  the  Revolution  was  a  stage  driver  over  the  post  road  between 
Boston  and  Providence.  He  saw  service  in  the  Revolution,  but  attained 
the  rank  of  colonel  in  the  militia  of  later  days.  In  1780  he  bought 
the  old  Garrison  House  in  Attleboro,  and  kept  a  public  house  there 
until  his  death  in  1837.  But  he  appears  to  have  divided  his  time  be- 
tween the  Attleboro  house,  which  he  called  "  Steamboat  Hotel,"  and 
various  taverns  in  Boston,  of  which  he  was  at  one  time  and  another  the 
proprietor.  In  1787  he  assumed  the  management  of  "The  White 
Horse,"  which  stood  on  Washington  Street,  then  called  Newbury  Street, 
about  opposite  Hayward  Place,  and  announced  his  intentions  by  the 
following  advertisement:  . 

TAKE   NOTICE 

Entertainment  for 

Gentlemen  and  Ladies 

At  the  White  Horse  Tavern, 

Newbury  Street. 

My  friends  and  travellers,  you  '11  meet 

With  kindly  welcome  and  good  cheer, 

And  what  it  is  you  now  shall  hear: 

A  spacious  house  and  liquors  good, 

A  man  who  gets  his  livelihood 

By  favours  granted ;  hence  he  '11  be 

Always  smiling,  always  free: 

A  good  large  house  for  chaise  or  chair, 

A  stable  well  exposed  to  air: 

To  finish  all,  and  make  you  blest, 

You  '11  have  the  breezes  from  the  west. 

And  —  ye,  who  flee  the  approaching  Sol, 

My  doors  are  open  to  your  call ; 

Walk  in  —  and  it  shall  be  my  care 

T  oblige  the  weary  traveller. 

From  Attleborough,  Sirs,  I  came, 

Where  once  I  did  you  entertain, 

1  Tillinghast's  Index  of  Senate  and  House  Members,  Massachusetts  State  Library. 
[88] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

And  now  shall  here  as  there  before 
Attend  you  at  my  open  door, 
Obey  all  orders  with  despatch, 

Am,  Sirs,  your  servant, 

Israel  Hatch. 
Boston,  May  14,  1787. 

According  to  Daggett's  "  History  of  Attleboro,"  he  was  appointed 
the  first  postmaster  in  that  town  by  President  Washington,  in  1789, 
and  kept  the  office  in  his  "  Steamboat  Hotel."  At  the  beginning  of 
the  nineteenth  century,  Drake  tells  us  in  his  "  Old  Landmarks  and 
Historic  Personages  of  Boston,"  he  was  conducting  the  Royal  Exchange 
Tavern,  which  stood  on  the  southwest  corner  of  what  are  now  State 
and  Exchange  streets. 

The  stand  in  Attleboro  which  Colonel  Hatch  purchased  was  the 
oldest  tavern  stand  in  Bristol  County,  as  July  5,  1670,  John  Woodcock 
was  licensed  "  to  keep  an  ordinary  at  the  ten  mile  river  (so-called) 
which  is  in  the  way  from  Rehoboth  to  the  Bay.  .  .  ."  Madam  Knight 
stopped  there  for  dinner  on  the  second  day  of  her  journey,  and  has  left 
a  most  unappetizing  account  of  her  meal. 

Fisher  Ames  was  Dedham's  most  brilliant  son.  Graduating  from 
Harvard  in  1774,  he  became  a  lawyer  in  his  native  town,  and  was  sent 
as  a  delegate  to  assist  in  framing  the  Federal  Constitution.  For  the 
first  eight  years  of  the  country's  existence  he  served  in  Congress,  and 
upon  the  retirement  of  Washington  was  chosen  to  deliver  the  address 
in  behalf  of  that  body.  While  the  turnpike  was  building,  in  1804,  he 
was  elected  president  of  Harvard  College,  but  was  obliged  on  account 
of  ill  health  to  decline. 

Construction  of  the  turnpike  was  commenced  promptly  and  it  was 
opened  for  traffic  in  1806.  February  10,  1803,  an  additional  act  was 
passed  by  the  legislature,  by  which  an  extension  was  allowed  from  the 
courthouse  in  Dedham  to  "  the  southerly  side  of  the  pavement  near  to 
the  Brick  School  House  in  said  Town  of  Roxbury."  Under  the  two 
acts  the  road  was  built  from  the  present  corner  of  Washington  and 
Bartlett  streets,  in  the  Roxbury  section  of  Boston,  straight  through 
Forest  Hills  to  Dedham,  the  only  notable  break  in  the  straight  line 
coming  at  a  point  a  little  north  of  Germantown,  where  the  road  curved 
to  avoid  a  large  rock,  which  has  lately  been  removed  by  the  state  high- 
way commission.  Reaching  Dedham  at  the  old  Phoenix  House,  the 
turnpike  made  almost  a  square  bend  to  the  right  and  followed  the  present 
High  Street  to  the  old  courthouse,  which  occupied  the  site  of  the  present 
one.  From  thence  to  Pawtucket  Bridge  the  road  ran  so  straight  that 
we  can  imagine  the  few  bends  were  due  to  inaccuracies  in  the  old- 
fashioned  surveyors'  compasses,  except  at  one  point,  at  High  Rock  in 
Wrentham.  There  we  find  good  reason  for  the  crook  in  the  road,  for 
the  hill  would  have  been  impassable  if  the  line  had  been  carried  straight 
over  it. 

[89] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

Although,  as  we  have  seen,  the  promoters  of  this  road  had  the  benefit 
of  the  advice  of  Thomas  Dwight  that  two  dollars  a  rod  was  too  high 
a  price  to  pay  for  construction  of  turnpikes,  the  directors  actually  con- 
tracted with  Colonel  Hatch  for  the  construction  of  three  and  three 
quarters  miles  of  the  road  at  seven  dollars  a  rod.  The  original  contract 
may  still  be  seen  in  the  rooms  of  the  Dedham  Historical  Society.  It  is 
in  the  form  of  a  bond,  Colonel  Hatch  being  holden  and  standing  firmly 
bound  for  a  certain  sum,  the  conditions  being  that  he  is  to  construct  the 
road  from  Hatch's  Corner  to  the  Allen  Road,  twenty-four  feet  wide  and 
crowned  twelve  inches.     The  specifications  required  him 

to  form  a  smooth  regular  surface  covered  in  every  part  with  coarse  hard  cementing 
gravel  not  less  than  six  inches  thick  for  seven  feet  in  width  and  three  inches  at  the 
sides  of  a  true  slope,  the  whole  cleared  of  stones  within  one  foot  of  the  surface,  with 
trenches  on  each  side  of  sufficient  depth  to  carry  off  the  water  and  sluices  where 
necessary  and  where  they  are  not  made  by  the  said  corporation  of  sufficient  sizes, 
made  and  covered  with  good  stone  and  projecting  two  feet  on  each  side  of  the  trav- 
elled part  of  said  road. 

And  the  contract  further  provides  for  the  building  of  three  bridges  for 
which  the  timber  was  to  be  furnished  by  the  company.  The  section 
which  Colonel  Hatch  built  under  this  contract  extended  from  what  is 
now  the  corner  of  Washington  Street  and  the  road  to  Plainville,  at  the 
upper  end  of  North  Attleboro  Village  where  Hatch's  "  Steamboat 
Hotel  "  stood,  to  the  corner  of  Washington  Street  and  Allen  Avenue, 
at  the  top  of  the  highest  hill  between  North  Attleboro  and  Paw- 
tucket.  At  two  points  on  this  section  are  still  to  be  seen  interesting 
instances  of  the  difference  between  turnpike  construction  and  that  of 
earlier  days.  The  Old  Post  Road  passed  through  what  is  to-day  North 
Attleboro  Village,  coming  down  over  the  top  of  the  high  hill  by  the 
water  tower,  where  it  is  now  known  as  Elmwood  Street,  and  passing 
in  a  long  radius  curve  to  the  west  of  the  location  of  the  present  Baptist 
meeting-house.  The  turnpike,  coming  down  the  hill  into  North  Attle- 
boro on  the  line  of  the  present  Washington  Street,  cut  across  the 
Old  Post  Road  and  continuing  the  straight  line  made  a  chord  across 
the  curve  above  mentioned,  after  which  turnpike  and  post  road  were 
blended  into  one  for  a  few  miles.  Again,  about  one  mile  below 
North  Attleboro  where  the  trolley  cars  leave  Washington  Street  to 
pass  through  the  village  of  South  Attleboro  is  a  place  where  the  Old 
Post  Road  was  badly  crooked,  but  the  turnpike  still  held  to  the  straight 
line,  and  the  two  roads  are  to-day  in  their  old  positions,  like  a  bow  and 
cord.  Entering  Dedham  from  Boston,  Washington  Street  the  turnpike, 
and  East  Street  the  Old  Post  Road,  emphasize  the  same  lesson. 

Once  and  once  only  did  this  corporation  deign  to  file  a  return  of  its 
doings,  as  required  by  its  charter.  In  that  the  total  cost  of  the  road  is 
stated  to  have  been  $225,000,  which  makes  the  cost  per  mile  about 
$6440.  This  figure  was  undoubtedly  inflated,  as  we  have  already  seen 
that  the  total  capital  was  only  $192,800;  and  taking  the  latter  figure  as 
[90] 


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Mendon  Road,  Soutli  Attleboro.  site  of  Tollgate 
Scenes  in  Foxboro  and  VVrentham 

Plate  XX  —  Norfolk  and  Bristol  Turnpike 


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THE   TURNPIKES    OF   MASSACHUSETTS 


the  cost  of  the  road  would  give  a  cost  per  mile  of  about  $5500,  which 
is  less  than  forty  per  .cent  of  the  pro-rata  cost  of  the  Salem  Turnpike. 
The  report  of  Secretary  Gallatin  states  that  this  road  was  covered  with 
a  stratum  of  gravel  or  pounded  stone,  which  accords  with  the  specifica- 
tions in  the  Hatch  contract  and  accounts  for  the  great  excess  of  cost 
over  the  previous  turnpikes,  which  were  simply  dirt  roads. 

Right-of-way  acquisition  seems  to  have  been  easy  in  Norfolk  County. 
Away  back  in  the  northeast  corner  of  the  clerk  of  court's  office  in 
Dedham,  on  the  top  shelf,  was  found  in  a  box  the  report  of  the  com- 
mittee to  whom  was  intrusted  the  duty  of  determining  the  value  of  the 
necessary  land  in  cases  where  the  corporation  and  the  owners  could  not 
agree.  There  were  only  fourteen  such  cases,  and  the  total  amount  of 
the  awards  was  only  $831.34;  and  from  the  findings  no  appeals  were 
taken.  But  in  Bristol  County  they  had  their  troubles.  We  have  already 
seen  that  there  appears  to  have  been  a  split  between  the  original  pro- 
jectors, and  the  records  of  the  court  of  sessions  in  Taunton  show  that 
the  enterprise  was  not  welcomed  in  all  parts  of  its  route.  Ephraim 
Starkweather,  the  leading  spirit  of  the  enterprise  in  its  early  days,  must 
have  had  a  bad  falling  out  with  his  associates  before  construction  began, 
for  we  find  him  appealing  for  a  jury  to  revise  the  award  which  the 
committee  had  made  on  two  pieces  of  land  which  had  been  taken  from 
him.  For  these  he  had  been  allowed  $96  and  $650  respectively,  but 
the  jury  thought  he  had  not  received  fair  treatment  and  awarded  $1 100 
for  the  two.  Eliphalet  and  Samuel  Slack  of  Rehoboth  were  among  the 
original  incorporators,  and  they,  too,  entered  into  litigation  with  the 
new  company.  Considering  the  awards  of  the  committee  in  their  cases 
too  great,  Oziel  Wilkinson  of  North  Providence,  a  director  of  the 
corporation,  appealed  for  a  jury  and  succeeded  in  having  the  total  of 
the  two  awards  reduced  by  five  dollars.  The  appeal  from  the  award 
to  Samuel  Slack  is  unique,  for  it  claims  that  the  committee  was  unduly 
influenced  by  the  fact  of  said  Slack's  being  a  deputy  sheriff. 

Forty-five  contested  cases  were  submitted  to  the  committee  in  Bristol 
County,  and  from  its  decisions  ten  appeals  were  taken,  the  last  not  being 
disposed  of  until  July  1,  1805.  The  total  of  the  awards  by  the  com- 
mittee was  $7664  and  the  appeals  raised  this  amount  by  about  $750, 
the  average  award  being  about  $1.90  per  lineal  rod  of  four  rods  width. 
Accepting  this  figure  as  the  average  cost  of  the  land  makes  a  total  cost 
of  about  $21,280,  or  $608  per  mile,  but  this  undoubtedly  would  not 
provide  for  land  in  Dedham  and  Roxbury.  Probably  $25,000  to 
$30,000  is  near  the  correct  cost  of  the  right  of  way. 

Thirteen  miles  of  this  turnpike  was  built  by  Oziel  Wilkinson,  prob- 
ably the  five  miles  connecting  the  end  of  Colonel  Hatch's  contract  with 
Pawtucket  Falls,  and  another  eight  miles  in  Wrentham  and  Foxboro; 
and  it  is  instructive  as  to  the  state  of  manufacturing  at  that  time  to  note 
that  he  was  obliged  to  fit  up  a  shop  of  his  own  in  Pawtucket,  in  which  he 
manufactured  the  shovels  to  be  used  by  his  workmen. 

[91] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

Although  the  road  was  opened  for  traffic  in  1806,  it  was  not  until 
November  6,  1809,  that  sufficient  surplus  had  accumulated  to  justify 
a  dividend.  Then  the  sum  of  $1205  was  distributed,  about  five  eighths 
of  one  per  cent.  The  corporation  by-laws  required  semi-annual  divi- 
dends, and  they  were  declared  fitfully  after  that.  The  chart  shown  was 
compiled  from  the  treasurer's  books  and  is  authentic.  It  shows  a  vary- 
ing rate,  but  generally  holding  up  to  about  one  or  two  per  cent  per 
annum,  until  the  opening  of  the  Boston  and  Providence  Railroad,  after 
which,  as  might  be  expected,  a  heavy  falling  off  is  noted.  But  a  most 
amazing  jump  appears  in  August,  1831,  when  $9640,  making  a  five-per- 
cent dividend,  was  declared,  which  gave  a  total  for  the  year  of  six  and 
one  half  per  cent. 

A  few  notes  on  the  nature  of  the  traffic  may  prove  of  interest,  1825 
being  arbitrarily  selected  as  a  sample  year,  and  the  data  being  collected 
from  the  toll  gatherers'  returns.  As  shown  on  the  chart,  the  volume  of 
business  was  heaviest  between  Boston  and  Dedham,  the  collections  on 
the  two  sections  there  being  greater  than  all  the  rest  together.  The 
amount  decreased  steadily  as  the  gates  receded  from  Boston  with  a  slight 
recovery  on  the  Pawtucket  end. 

The  travel  was  heaviest  in  June,  but  it  is  surprising  to  see  no  regu- 
larity in  the  rise  and  fall,  and  how  late  into  the  winter  good  business 
kept  up. 

The  winter  of  1824-25  must  have  been  an  open  one,  for  the  toll 
gatherer  at  the  Foxboro  gate  reported  no  sleds  or  sleighs  passing 
his  gate  in  February.  The  following  table  gives  his  report  for  two 
months  of  1825  of  the  nature  of  the  traffic: 

Description  February  July 

Boston-Providence  Citizens  Coaches 56  208 

Boston-Providence  New  Line 56  113 

Guild's  Teams  (freight  wagons) —  41 

Coaches 5  *7 

Chaise,  Chair,  or  other  1  horse  vehicles 86  194 

Union  Line  Stage  (1  horse  wagons) —  19 

Four  Horse  Wagons 49  49 

Two  Horse  Wagons 30  21 

One  Horse  Wagons 165  119 

Saddle  Horses 12  16 

Sheep  or  Swine 54  — 

On  July  2  it  was  noted  that  sixteen  stagecoaches  passed  the  gate. 

The  gross  receipts  for  1825  were  $9154.11,  and  in  that  year  one 
of  the  semi-annual  dividends  failed  to  materialize,  while  the  other  only 
gave  a  rate  of  about  one  and  one  quarter  per  cent  for  the  year. 

By  special  provision  in  its  charter  the  corporation  was  allowed  to 
commute  tolls  or,  in  other  words,  to  run  accounts  with  extensive  cus- 
tomers such  as  stage-coach  companies.     Such  commuted  tolls  in  1825 
amounted  to  $3006.48,  as  follows: 
[92] 


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" 

THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

* 

Citizens  Coach  Line  —  Boston  to  Providence $1,377-65 

Providence  Stage  —  Old  Line   . 575-53 

New  Line 563.34 

Hartford   Stage 145- 15 

M.  Guild  for  wagon  tolls 140.54 

Union   Line      88.00 

Dedham  Stage 10.00 

Miscellaneous       106.27 

A  suggestion  appears  in  the  above  table  of  why  the  section  between 
Boston  and  Dedham  paid  so  much  better  than  all  the  rest,  for  "  Hart- 
ford Stage  "  may  be  noted  as  a  source  of  income.  The  Hartford  and 
Dedham  Turnpike,  which  by  its  connections  with  the  Norfolk  and  Bris- 
tol at  one  end  and  with  the  Ninth  Massachusetts  at  the  other,  formed 
the  best  through  line  to  Hartford,  connected  with  the  Norfolk  and 
Bristol  at  the  courthouse  in  Dedham,  and  all  its  Boston  business  passed 
thence  over  the  latter  company's  road. 

In  1805,  while  the  expectation  of  dividends  may  have  been  still  vivid, 
the  corporation  sought  and  obtained  an  extension  of  its  franchise  rights 
from  its  authorized  terminus  at  the  corner  of  Washington  and  Bartlett 
streets  to  Pleasant  Street  in  Boston.  But  such  a  piece  of  work,  involv- 
ing the  building  of  a  bridge  or  causeway  over  a  mile  long  across  tidal 
flats,  proved  too  great  an  undertaking,  and  the  turnpike  continued 
throughout  to  deliver  its  travelers  to  the  public  road  in  Roxbury. 

The  old  turnpike  is  in  existence  throughout  its  length  to-day  as  a 
public  road,  except  for  the  few  places  where  changes  have  been  made  in 
connection  with  railroad  crossings.  Commencing  at  its  end  at  the  cor- 
ner of  Washington  and  Bartlett  streets,  for  about  two  miles  it  may  be 
traced  under  the  gloom  and  reverberations  of  the  elevated  structure 
to  Forest  Hills,  where  the  first  tollgate  was  encountered  by  the  old-time 
travelers.  For  many  years  the  railroad  station  at  Forest  Hills  was 
known  as  "Toll  Gate  Station";  and  "Toll  Gate  Cemetery,"  "Toll 
Gate  Way,"  and  "  Toll  Gate  Inn,"  still  chronicle  the  location  of  the  old 
gate.  In  the  grade-crossing  abolitions  of  1895  the  present  bend  in  the 
street  was  formed  to  afford  a  better  passage  under  the  tracks.  About 
the  time  of  the  Centennial  celebration  in  1876  a  concerted  movement 
resulted  in  having  the  old  turnpike  named  Washington  Street  in  all  the 
Massachusetts  towns  through  which  it  passed;  hence  as  Washington 
Street  we  look  for  it  and  follow  the  same  to  Dedham,  the  latter  part 
of  the  way,  over  a  broad  boulevard  constructed  by  the  state  highway 
commission.  Here,  however,  a  slip  occurred,  and  for  the  next  mile 
Washington  Street  is  not  the  old  turnpike  at  all.  The  old-time  travelers 
on  reaching  Dedham  Square  found  the  Phoenix  House  on  the  corner 
at  the  right,  where  it  stood  until  burned  in  1880.  Turning  around  this 
corner  the  turnpike  followed  the  present  High  Street  to  the  courthouse, 
and  thence  over  Court  Street  to  its  junction  with  Washington  Street. 
Then  to  the  Rhode  Island  boundary  Washington  Street  is  the  old  turn- 
pike.    Glance  at  the  map  of  this  section  of  Massachusetts  and  you  will 

T94] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

have  no  trouble  in  picking  out  the  old  road.  The  straightness  of  its 
course  makes  it  stand  out  as  if  emphasized  by  heavier  lines.  From 
Dedham  to  East  Walpole  it  is  an  important  road  with  twenty-minute 
trolley  service  and  heavy  teaming;  thence  to  South  Walpole  it  is  a  much- 
used  country  road;  but  between  South  Walpole  and  North  Attleboro  it 
is  an  almost  forgotten  path  through  the  woods.  Below  North  Attle- 
boro it  is  a  state  highway,  which  in  summer  gives  off  its  surface  in  an 
almost  continuous  cloud  of  dust  from  passing  automobiles.  Entering 
Pawtucket  we  find  the  road  called  Broadway,  now  in  Rhode  Island. 
Prior  to  i860  the  easterly  shore  of  the  Seekonk  River  was  the  boundary 
between  the  states,  and  the  turnpike  was  built  in  Massachusetts  as  far 
as  the  easterly  end  of  the  bridge  in  the  center  of  Pawtucket,  where  it 
connected  with  the  Providence  and  Pawtucket  Turnpike,  the  road  of 
a  Rhode  Island  corporation,  later  owned  by  the  state. 

Except  for  the  section  between  Norwood  and  North  Attleboro  the 
turnpike  was  laid  out  along  the  line  of  the  previously  existing  road, 
which  led  through  the  centers  of  Walpole,  Wrentham,  and  Plainville. 
But  there  the  straight-line  mania  was  allowed  to  warp  better  judgment, 
and  from  Norwood  for  fifteen  miles  it  was  laid  out  as  straight  as  it 
could  be  made  through  what  must  then  have  been  a  wilderness,  and  over 
hills  that  called  for  the  greatest  allowance  in  grades.  Lewis  tells  us  in 
his  "  History  of  Walpole  "  that  that  town,  in  town  meeting,  voted  to 
oppose  the  granting  of  the  charter  for  this  turnpike,  and  he  wonders 
at  the  opposition  to  progress.  Rather  it  would  seem  that  the  hard- 
headed  old  settlers  knew  of  the  proposed  route  through  the  wild  out- 
skirts of  their  town,  and  were  far-sighted  enough  to  see  that  it  would 
not  succeed.  For  the  old  road  refused  to  be  put  out  of  business  by  the 
new  turnpike,  and,  having  the  advantage  of  easier  grades  with  little 
additional  distance  and  also  the  travel  and  traffic  of  the  intermediate 
towns,  it  proved  a  formidable  competitor  of  the  turnpike.  In  the  com- 
parison of  business  by  districts,  shown  on  the  chart  already  mentioned, 
the  comparatively  small  business  done  on  the  Foxboro  and  Attleboro 
sections  is  probably  largely  due  to  such  competition.  According  to 
Lewis'  account,  John  Needham  ran  the  stage  route  from  Boston 
to  Providence  through  North  Walpole  and  the  Plain  in  close  rivalry 
with  the  stage  line  which  passed  through  East  Walpole.  Now  that  sec- 
tion of  the  turnpike  is  an  almost  forgotten  path  through  the  woods  for 
much  of  its  length,  but  the  old  road,  located  by  earlier  theories  along 
lines  of  least  resistance,  is  still  a  much-traveled  highway  and  the  prin- 
cipal road  between  Boston  and  Providence.  President  Monroe,  on  his 
tour  of  New  England  in  18 17,  passed  over  the  turnpike  from  Pawtucket 
Bridge  to  Hatch's  Tavern,  where  he  stopped  for  refreshments.  His 
journey  was  resumed  through  Wrentham  and  Walpole  over  the  old 
road.1 

1  "The  Tour  of  James  Monroe,  President  of  the  United  States  in  1817,"  by  S.  Putnam 
Waldo. 

[95] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

There  were  thrilling  scenes  on  the  old  turnpike  in  the  years  preceding 
the  advent  of  the  railroads,  when  the  demands  on  the  meager  trans- 
portation facilities  were  taxing  them  to  their  utmost  and  loudly  calling 
for  further  and  improved  methods.  With  sometimes  sixteen  stages  a 
day  over  the  road,  it  is  not  hard  to  imagine  the  bustle  attendant  upon 
their  passing,  the  hurry  and  excitement  where  the  hungry  travelers 
alighted  for  their  meals  and  horses  were  changed,  and  the  keen  excite- 
ment of  a  race  when  stages  of  rival  lines  met  the  temptation.  And  there 
is  a  touch  of  romantic  interest  in  the  old  freight  wagons  which  plodded 
their  way  so  slowly  that  taverns  were  provided  for  them  every  few 
miles.  The  telegraph  had  its  predecessor  in  those  days,  too,  for  they 
had  their  way  of  handling  important  messages.  President  Jackson's 
message  was  carried  from  Providence  to  Boston  in  two  hours  and  forty- 
five  minutes  on  one  occasion.  Wrapped  around  a  whip  handle  it  was 
thrown  on  to  the  Providence  wharf  as  the  New  York  steamer  neared 
its  landing.  Instantly  seizing  it  a  waiting  rider  dashed  away  with 
the  message  at  full  speed,  which  he  maintained  until  he  overtook 
another  who  was  jogging  along  easily,  waiting  for  him  to  catch  up.  In 
this  manner  the  message  was  passed  from  one  to  another,  so  that  the 
utmost  speed  of  a  horse  was  constantly  being  employed. 

One  often  wonders  if  tollhouses,  situated  often  in  remote  and  lonely 
districts,  were  not  subject  to  robbery,  and  lest  we  too  rashly  conclude 
that  they  were  immune  on  account  of  the  high  moral  character  of  a  cen- 
tury ago,  let  us  read  the  following  affidavit  which  is  to  be  seen  among 
the  Norfolk  and  Bristol  Corporation's  papers. 

Massts.  Norfolk  ss  Dedham,  March  27th,  1806. 

Personally  appears  Cyrus  Knowlton  of  Roxbury  in  the  County  of  Norfolk, 
keeper  of  the  toll  gate  on  the  Turnpike  Road  from  Boston  to  Dedham  in  said  Rox- 
bury and  upon  oath  complains  and  declares  that  between  twelve  and  one  o'clock 
yesterday  morning  being  in  bed  and  asleep  in  the  Toll  house  of  the  lower  Gate  at 
Roxbury  aforesaid  I  was  awakened  with  the  noise  of  several  People  whom  I  heard 
talking  but  did  not  first  distinguish  what  was  said  then  they  took  hold  of  the  door 
and  attempted  to  open  it — I  said  halloo  —  upon  which  they  told  me  to  be  still  and 
open  the  door  —  or  let  them  in  —  I  asked  them  what  they  wanted  —  They  said  to 
come  in —  I  asked  who  they  were  —  They  said  none  of  my  business  (or  to  that  ef- 
fect) let  us  in  —  I  told  them  they  should  not  come  in,  but  they  might  pass  the  Gate 
and  pulled  out  the  bolt  —  They  then  demanded  my  money  - —  I  told  them  I  had  none 
— ■  they  insisted  I  had  —  They  then  told  me  to  hand  them  the  two  watches,  (hang- 
ing up  in  the  Toll  house  which  they  could  see  by  the  lamp  which  stood  in  the  win- 
dow) I  told  them  I  would  not —  Thereupon  they  stove  in  the  window  —  and  one 
attempting  to  get  in  and  having  about  half  his  body  within  the  Toll  house  aforesaid 
—  I  struck  with  a  sword  at  the  half  body  so  within  as  hard  as  I  could  the  lamp  being 
put  out  and  no  fire  or  light  remaining  upon  which  he  fell  back  as  I  thought,  then  I 
saw  a  hand  holding  a  pistol  within  said  Toll  house  and  snaped  the  pistol  at  which 
hand  I  again  struck  with  my  sword,  but  suppose  I  struck  the  pistol  as  I  afterwards 
found  my  sword  battered  —  Thereupon  they  all  seemed  to  be  moved  off  except  one 
who  threatened  my  life  if  I  made  any  noise.  I  stood  still  awhile  and  then  thought 
I  saw  somebody  attempting  to  come  at  the  window  and  struck  him  but  did  not  sup- 
pose I  hit  him  —    After  waiting  awhile  I  spoke  but  nobodv  answered  —    Then  I 

[96] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

hallooed  and  exclaimed  Murder —  Then  I  heard  the  report  of  a  pistol,  as  I  sup- 
posed, against  the  door  of  said  Toll  house  against  which  I  was  standing  —  and  found 
one  ball  had  lodged  in  the  door  —  &  another  ball  passed  thro'  the  door  and  lodged 
in  the  board  siding  opposite  the  door  —  Then  a  person  without  said  Toll  house  said 
"  I  have  got  another  loaded  (or  ready,  I  can  not  recollect  which)  and  if  you  attempt 
to  come  out  or  make  a  noise  before  day  I  will,  blow  your  brains  out  "  —  I  stood 
still  untill  a  team  came  up  to  the  Toll  house  and  found  no  person  remaining  —  The 
Teamster  went  and  alarmed  the  neighbors  then  I  went  with  him  and  others  and 
traced  the  blood  on  the  snowy  ground  towards  Boston  about  thirty  rods  —  which 
others  say  they  traced  a  mile  off  quite  thick  —  and  further  saith  not. 

Cyrus  Knowlton. 

Some  famous  hotels  were  located  along  the  Norfolk  and  Bristol  and 
drew  their  trade  from  its  travelers.  First  at  the  northerly  end  was 
found  the  old  Norfolk.  House,  still  standing  in  Eliot  Square,  Boston,  not 
on  but  "  contiguous  to  the  Providence  Road,"  as  its  old-time  circulars 
announced.  In  Dedham  accommodations  were  to  be  had  at  the  Phoenix 
House,  already  mentioned,  which  was  burned  in  1880,  and  the  Norfolk. 
House,  which  is  now  a  private  residence  and  stands  just  back  of  the 
courthouse.  This  house,  erected  in  1803  in  the  early  turnpike  en- 
thusiasm, continued  to  receive  travelers  hospitably  until  about  1866, 
and  like  many  others  of  its  class  breathes  traditions  of  presidents  and 
great  generals  who  have  been  sheltered  by  its  roof.  It  is  a  three-and- 
a-half-story  brick  structure  of  colonial  design,  with  a  large  ell  in  the 
rear,  in  which  is  a  large  dance  hall  with  spring  floor  and  suspended 
orchestra  balcony.  Standing  beneath  several  ancient  elms,  it  presents 
a  singularly  attractive  view  and  forms  a  delightful  link  between  the  past 
and  present. 

Next,  in  Norwood,  came  the  tavern  which  gave  the  nickname  to  that 
section  for  many  years.  Until  about  19 14  this  tavern  remained  on  its 
original  site  on  Washington  Street  in  the  center  of  the  village,  but  lately, 
in  a  rush  of  civic  improvement,  it  has  been  relegated  to  a  less  conspicu- 
ous position.  In  olden  times  a  large  hook  had  its  place  in  front  of  the 
tavern,  and  riders  approaching  would  easily  toss  their  reins  over  the 
hook,  thus  losing  no  time  in  putting  themselves  in  position  to  have  their 
thirst  quenched.  As  "  The  Hook  "  that  section  of  Norwood  was  there- 
fore known. 

Famous  throughout  the  country  were  the  two  taverns  in  South  Wal- 
pole,  and  many  have  sung  the  praises  of  the  dinners  served  there.  Situ- 
ated on  opposite  sides  of  the  road,  almost  exactly  halfway  between  the 
terminal  cities,  they  naturally  had  almost  a  monopoly  of  the  noonday 
dinner  business,  and  their  rivalry  grew  so  keen  that  a  friendly  com- 
promise became  necessary.  Tradition  tells  us  that  by  such  agreement 
all  stages  pulled  up  at  the  tavern  on  the  right-hand  side  of  the  road,  thus 
giving  the  Boston-bound  business  to  one  and  that  in  the  opposite  direc- 
tion to  the  other.  Each  of  these  old  taverns  stands  to-day,  but  woefully 
fallen  from  their  once  high  estate.  In  one  you  will  reverently  be  shown 
the  room  in  which  President  Washington  once  slept;  but  since  there  was 

[97] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


no  tavern  there  until  the  turnpike  was  built,  and  since  there  was  no  turn- 
pike there  until  seven  years  after  the  death  of  Washington,  you  may 
reserve  your  decision.  Many  an  old-timer  treasured  sweet  memories 
of  the  entertainment  at  Polly's  Tavern,  which  enjoyed  a  wide  popularity. 

Down  in  Foxboro,  near  the  Wrentham  line,  the  old  turnpike  inter- 
sected the  ancient  "  Cape  Road,"  which  led  from  Wrentham  and 
points  beyond  through  Foxboro  Village,  and  on  to  Plymouth  and 
Cape  Cod.  The  crossing  occurred  at  the  summit  of  a  high  hill  known 
since  early  days  as  "  Shackstand  Hill  " ;  and  this  location,  on  two  im- 
portant lines  of  travel,  logically  determined  the  site  of  the  old  Shack- 
stand Tavern  which,  under  the  famous  management  of  "  Pennyroyal  " 
Cobb,  flourished  through  the  turnpike  days.  About  a  mile  southwest 
the  turnpike  curved  slightly  at  the  summit  of  "  Turner  Hill,"  and  the 
traveler  was  thrilled  by  the  sight  of  the  long,  straight  stretch  of  road, 
dipping  into  the  valley  and  then  rising  over  successive  hills,  until  it 
finally  disappeared  over  the  horizon  to  follow  an  easy  down  grade  into 
Attleboro  North  Parish,  now  the  thriving  town  of  North  Attleboro. 
But  one  traveler,  back  in  the  early  days  before  railroads  had  sim- 
plified the  transportation  problem,  felt  no  thrills  over  the  inspiring 
scene,  for  he  was  driving  a  jaded  team  hauling  a  heavy  load  over  the 
soft  road  and  through  the  mud  of  early  spring.  Ephraim  Jewett  held 
the  contract  to  haul  from  Providence  to  Boston  a  newly  coined  issue  of 
silver  dollars,  packed  in  kegs,  consigned  from  the  United  States  Mint 
to  various  banks  in  Boston,  and  he  had  struggled  with  his  duty  and  urged 
his  weary  horses,  for  many  miles  until  late  in  the  evening  when  tired 
horse  flesh  could  do  no  more,  and  the  valuable  cargo  came  to  a  stop  on 
the  steep  grade  of  "  Turner  Hill,"  oozy  and  deep  with  mud  from  the 
spring  thaw.  Despite  the  desperate  efforts  of  the  driver,  who  thus 
found  himself  stalled  at  night  in  a  lonely  part  of  the  road,  the  horses 
could  not  advance  another  inch,  and  finally,  as  he  told  it  himself, 
Ephraim  "  got  mad,"  and  leaving  his  trust  where  it  stood  betook  him- 
self and  the  horses  to  the  "  comfort  for  man  and  beast "  offered  by  the 
Shackstand  Tavern.  No  worry  oppressed  his  sleep,  and  he  arose  the 
next  morning  sufficiently  refreshed  to  extricate  his  wagon  and  resume 
his  journey,  with  the  cargo  undiminished  by  thieving  hands. 

Only  a  little  over  five  miles  back  on  the  road  from  the  scene  of  his 
discomfiture  Jewett  had  passed  Colonel  Hatch's  "  Steamboat  Hotel," 
of  which  mention  has  already  been  made.  A  little  farther  toward 
Providence,  on  the  site  of  the  modern  Emerson  House,  on  the  corner 
of  Washington  Street  and  Commonwealth  Avenue  in  North  Attle- 
boro, stood  the  old  "  Union  House,"  built  by  Richard  Robinson,  and 
famous  far  and  near  for  its  dances. 

Still  standing  on  the  State  Highway,  as  the  turnpike  is  now  called 
in  that  section,  is  the  old  Barrows  Tavern  in  South  Attleboro,  another 
link  to  the  turnpike  past.     Here  Milton  Barrows,  the  first  postmaster 
in  the  south  part  of  the  town,  sorted  and  passed  out  mail. 
[98] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

One  tollgate  stood  in  what  is  now  Forest  Hills  Square,  where  the 
railroad  later  made  a  grade  crossing,  and  the  second  was  located  "  near 
the  old  road  Westward  of  Mill  creek,"  probably  near  the  corner  of  the 
present  East  Street.  These  were  half-gates,  at  which  one  half  the 
authorized  tolls  were  collected,  —  an  arrangement  which  was  author- 
ized by  the  legislature  by  an  act  passed  in  1804.  Another  gate  stood  at 
the  crossing  of  the  Neponset  River,  below  South  Walpole,  according 
to  Lewis'  "  History  of  Walpole,"  and  Timothy  Gay  divided  his  atten- 
tion between  his  gristmill  and  the  tollgate.  In  1825  James  Boyden  was 
performing  those  duties.  Another  gate  stood  at  the  corner  of  the 
Mendon  Road  in  South  Attleboro. 

The  Boston  Traveller  of  October  2,  1833,  printed  an  account  of  a 
journey  just  completed  on  which  the  wanderer  left  New  York  by  steam- 
boat at  five  o'clock  in  the  afternoon,  landing  in  Providence  at  eleven 
the  next  forenoon.  The  journey  to  Boston  was  continued  by  stage  over 
the  turnpike  in  a  coach  of  the  Citizens'  Line  which,  "  without  any 
dangerous  attempt  at  racing,"  arrived  in  that  city  soon  after  five  that 
afternoon.  So  rapid  was  the  stage-coach  travel  considered  that  the 
editor  of  the  Providence  Gazette  suggested  that  anybody  desiring  to 
move  faster  should  send  to  Kentucky  for  a  streak  of  lightning.  He  had 
just  been  "  rattled  over  the  road  "  in  four  hours  and  fifty  minutes,  which 
was  probably  about  the  record  attained  by  stages. 

The  fare  from  Boston  to  Providence  previous  to  the  turnpike  open- 
ing had  been  one  dollar.  The  Massachusetts  act  incorporating  the 
Citizens'  Coach  Company,  in  1829,  limited  the  fare  to  two  dollars  and 
a  half  in  spite  of  the  interstate  nature  of  the  business;  but  nevertheless 
it  is  said  that  three  dollars  was  the  rate  in  1832. 

At  the  May  sitting  of  the  court  in  1821  a  petition  was  presented  for 
two  public  roads,  one  to  lead  from  Dedham  Common,  the  other  from 
the  courthouse,  to  unite  on  Dedham  Island  and  then  proceed  to  Spring 
Street  in  Roxbury.  The  turnpike  corporation  opposed  the  granting 
of  this  petition,  and  it  was  finally  dismissed  upon  the  corporation's 
agreeing  to  move  its  gate  from  its  position  on  the  west  side  of  Mill 
Creek  to  some  place  on  the  east  side  of  the  creek.  If  that  had  been 
done,  Dedham  people  would  have  been  able  to  follow  the  turnpike  until 
they  had  crossed  the  meadows  of  the  Charles  River,  and  then  could 
have  continued  their  journey  over  the  old  road  without  paying  any  toll; 
so  we  are  hardly  surprised  to  find  further  along  that  the  corporation  did 
not  carry  out  its  agreement,  and  further  petitions  appeared  until  the 
matter  was  finally  dropped  about  September,  1824. 

About  1826  demands  became  insistent  that  better  means  of  trans- 
portation should  be  provided,  and  the  state  was  looked  to  for  the  build- 
ing of  railroads,  which  had  just  been  introduced  in  England.  A  "  Board 
of  Directors  of  Internal  Improvement "  was  appointed  to  study  the 
question,  and  in  their  consideration  of  the  route  between  Boston  and 
Providence  they  caused  a  survey  to  be  made  of  the  amount  of  travel  and 

[99] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

traffic  carried  over  the  turnpike,  and  also  by  water.  Their  report,  issued 
in  1829,  gave  the  following: 

Between 

Providence  and  Pawtucket,  and  Boston per  annum  1,706  tons 

Providence  and  Boston  by  water "  "  3,400  " 

Boston  and  towns  over  ten  miles  away "  "  6,744  " 

Providence  and  towns  over  ten  miles  away "  "  976  " 

Boston  and  towns  not  on  the  route  but  which  would  con- 
veniently use  ten  or  more  miles  of  the  route  .    .    .    .  "  "      10,701  " 
Providence  and  ditto "  "  3,663  " 

and  stated  that  twenty-four  thousand  one  hundred  passengers  were  car- 
ried in  1827  between  the  two  terminal  cities  by  the  citizens'  and  com- 
mercial lines  of  stages. 

Following  the  opening  of  the  Boston  and  Providence  Railroad  in 
June,  1835,  the  dividends  dropped  to  about  one  half  of  one  per  cent 
with  frequent  omissions  altogether,  and  in  1843  the  corporation  peti- 
tioned the  legislature  to  allow  it  to  relinquish  all  of  its  franchise  be- 
tween Dedham  and  Pawtucket  Bridge,  stating  that  an  agreement  had 
been  made  with  the  Norfolk  county  commissioners  by  which  the  road 
from  Dedham  to  the  northerly  line  of  Foxboro  was  to  be  laid  out  as 
a  county  road,  but  they  further  wished  to  be  relieved  of  the  section 
in  Foxboro,  Attleboro,  and  Seekonk.  One  hundred  and  forty-six 
Attleboro  citizens'  signatures  may  be  seen  in  the  state  archives  attached 
to  a  protest  filed  against  the  corporation's  request.  Said  they:  "The 
undersigned  had  much  rather  pay  the  legal  tolls  on  said  road,  when 
kept  in  good  order  by  the  proprietors,  than  receive  it  as  it  now  is  as  a 

gift.; 

Nevertheless  the  legislature  granted  the  petition,  and  the  road  was 
relinquished,  within  those  limits,  under  authority  of  an  act  approved 
March  23,  1843.  The  portion  in  Norfolk  County  promptly  became  a 
public  highway,  but  not  until  1855  did  Attleboro  add  its  portion  of 
the  turnpike  to  its  town  roads. . 

The  petition  of  1843  further  recited  that  the  portion  of  the  road 
between  Dedham  and  Roxbury  still  yielded  a  small  income,  and  desired 
that  the  corporation  might  be  allowed  to  retain  its  rights  over  that. 
That  being  granted,  the  company  continued  to  operate  that  portion  with 
steadily  diminishing  dividends  until,  in  1857,  the  county  commissioners 
laid  it  out  as  a  public  road. 


THE    QUINCY   TURNPIKE 

Like  the  famous  chapter  on  Snakes  in  Iceland,1  we  might  open  this 
section  by  saying  that  there  never  was  any  "  Quincy  Turnpike."  But 
there  was  a  road  which  was  known  by  that  name,  although  miscalled, 

1  "  Natural  History  of  Iceland  "  (1758),  Chapter  LXXII. 
[iOO] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   MASSACHUSETTS 


and  it  was  built  in  connection  with  the  Neponset  Bridge  between  Dor- 
Chester  and  Quincy. 

As  early  as  1635  the  need  of  crossing  the  Neponset  River  near"  its  • 
mouth  seemed  great  enough  to  demand  a  ferry,  and  the  right  to  conduct 
such  a  business  was  granted  to  John  Holland  in  that  year.  That  ferry 
crossed  from  Preston's  Point  in  Dorchester  to  Billings'  Rocks  in  Quincy, 
and  in  1802,  on  March  II,  the  Neponset  Bridge  Corporation  was 
formed  to  build  a  bridge  between  the  same  points.  But  Holland's  ferry 
did  not  pay  and  was  soon  given  up.  In  1638  another  ferry  was  estab- 
lished farther  up  stream,  which  was  known  as  the  "  Penny  Ferry  "  on 
account  of  that  coin  being  charged  for  a  single  passage.  Ten  years 
later  we  find  that  the  ferry  had  disappeared,  and  "  Mr.  Joh  Glour  " 
was  then  given  a  franchise  for  a  period  of  seven  years.  The  need  of 
better  means  of  crossing  was  so  great  that  Quincy  voted  in  a  town 
meeting  in  1802  to  choose  two  agents  to  assist  the  promoters  of  the 
Neponset  Bridge  Corporation  in  their  efforts  to  secure  the  franchise. 

Serious  difficulties  were  found  in  building  the  bridge  at  the  location 
specified  in  1802,  so  the  next  legislature  was  appealed  to  for  an  amend- 
ment, which  was  granted,  allowing  the  bridge  to  be  erected  at  "  Horse 
Hummock  "  instead  of  at  Preston's  Point.  The  first  charter  contained 
the  right  to  build  a  road  from  the  bridge  to  the  Quincy  meeting-house 
but  provided  for  no  tolls  upon  it.  In  the  amendment  the  same  road  was 
allowed  with  another  on  the  Boston  side  running  to  "  Dorchester  Lower 
Road."  Dorchester  and  Quincy  people  were  to  have  the  free  use  of 
their  respective  roads.  The  corporation  was  to  maintain  the  road  in 
Dorchester,  but  Quincy  was  to  share  the  expense  of  the  road  on  its 
side. 

Hancock  Street  to-day  follows  the  lines  laid  out  by  the  bridge 
corporation  from  its  road  to  Quincy  meeting-house.  It  was  over  two 
and  a  half  miles  long,  but  no  gate  was  erected  upon  it  nor  tolls  collected, 
so  it  was  not  a  turnpike  but  a  feeder  for  the  bridge.  But  on  some  maps 
and  in  many  papers  the  road  is  spoken  of  as  the  "  Quincy  Turnpike,"  as 
has  also  been  found  the  case  with  the  road  on  the  Dorchester  end. 

As  with  turnpikes,  returns  of  business  done  were  required  from  toll 
bridges,  and  the  Neponset  Bridge  made  its  statements  with  reasonable 
frequency.  From  18 10  to  1841  returns  were  made  without  a  break 
and  intermittently  after  that.  These  have  been  plotted  on  the  accom- 
panying chart  and  seem  to  emphasize  the  fact  that  a  toll  bridge  was  not 
in  the  same  class  as  a  turnpike  in  the  matter  of  earnings.  Between 
1 8 10  and  1841  the  average  of  the  net  receipts  was  about  fourteen  per 
cent.  The  banner  year  was  1835,  with  a  gross  of  $7464.72  and  a  net 
of  about  twenty  and  three  fourths  per  cent.  When  returns  were  resumed 
in  1844  the  Old  Colony  Railroad  was  in  operation,  crossing  the  river 
but  a  few  hundred  feet  below  the  bridge,  and  naturally  the  tolls  were 
much  reduced  by  the  competition. 

May  26,  1857,  an  act  was  passed  bv  the  legislature  under  authority 

[101] 


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THE  TURNPIKES    OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

of  which  the  County  of  Norfolk  assumed  the  management  of  the  Nepon- 
set  Bridge  and  the  Braintree  and  Weymouth  Turnpike,  with  its 
bridge.  Tolls  continued  to  be  collected  under  county  control  until 
September  13,  1863,  when  all  became  free.  The  story  of  the  operation 
of  the  Braintree  and  Weymouth  Turnpike  and  the  Neponset  Bridge  by 
Norfolk  County  has  been  sketched  in  connection  with  the  Braintree  and 
Weymouth  Turnpike,  and  will  be  found  on  page  116.  Early  in  1864 
the  Norfolk  county  commissioners  voted  to  sell  the  tollhouse  at  Ne- 
ponset Bridge  and  it  was  soon  after  moved  to  another  location,  where 
it  has  served  as  a  dwelling  ever  since. 

The  approach  on  the  Dorchester  end  passed  under  control  of  the 
county  at  the  same  time  as  the  bridge,  and  that  seems  to  be  the  only 
public  dedication  which  that  street  has  had.  It  is  now  known  as 
Neponset  Avenue,  and  extends  from  358  Adams  Street  to  the  Neponset 
Bridge. 

The  present  Neponset  Bridge  was  built  in  1877,  replacing  the  old 
toll  bridge;  and  it,  too,  is  soon  to  give  way  to  a  more  enduring  and 
ornamental  structure  built  under  the  control  of  the  Metropolitan  Park 
Commission. 

THE    FOURTEENTH    MASSACHUSETTS   TURNPIKE 

The  Fourteenth  Massachusetts  Turnpike  Corporation  was  the  next, 
being  chartered  March  II,  1802.  The  road  of  this  company  was  to 
complete  the  system  of  turnpikes  from  Boston  to  the  Hudson  River, 
and  it  was  to  connect  the  Fifth  Massachusetts  with  the  Second,  covering 
an  intervening  distance  of  about  twenty-four  miles.  The  description 
of  the  route  contains  two  hundred  and  forty-four  words,  ten  words  for 
each  mile,  and  is  noteworthy  for  specifying  that  at  each  river  intersec- 
tion there  must  be  a  bridge.  Hampshire  County  records  show  the  loca- 
tion of  the  road,  but  only  for  a  distance  of  about  six  and  one  eighth 
miles  westerly  from  Greenfield.  Damages  were  awarded  the  various 
landowners  whose  land  was  taken  for  the  road  to  a  total  of  $340.50, 
or  about  $56  per  mile,  for  right  of  way. 

Money  was  not  easily  obtained  for  this  road,  and  the  whole  was 
evidently  never  completed.  Greenfield  men  were  the  promoters,  and 
apparently  their  efforts  were  exhausted  when  they  had  built  to  Shel- 
burne,  for  we  find  an  act  passed  in  1807,  which  allowed  the  company 
to  operate  that  much  of  its  road.  In  1808  the  time  within  which  the 
road  might  be  built  was  extended  to  18 12,  but  nothing  further  appears. 
When  the  road  was  thrown  open  to  the  public  is  not  on  the  records. 
An  inspiring  ride  is  offered  over  the  old  road  to-day.  Starting  from  the 
Mansion  House  in  Greenfield  one  follows  westwardly  over  Main  Street, 
dipping  down  to  the  crossing  over  Punch  Brook.  Then  in  a  little  less 
than  three  miles  the  old  turnpike  climbs  seven  hundred  feet,  by  a  devious 
course  bristling  with  overhanging  rocks  and  plunging  deeply  through 

[103] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


ledge  cuts.    After  much  solicitation  by  the  local  people  this  road  was  at 
last  built  over  as  a  state  highway. 

After  the  opening  by  the  Massachusetts  Highway  Commission  of 
the  Mohawk  Trail,  which  generally  followed  the  route  of  the  old  Second 
Massachusetts  Turnpike,  a  rush  by  enthusiastic  motor  tourists  began, 
and  the  trip  soon  became  one  of  the  most  popular  in  the  state.  As  of 
old,  the  route  from  the  east  led  over  the  line  of  the  old  Fourteenth 
Massachusetts,  and  those  bound  for  the  Mohawk  Trail  found  them- 
selves obliged  to  climb  the  steep  grades  over  Shelburne  Mountain  after 
leaving  Greenfield.  As  some  of  those  grades  ran  as  steep  as  eleven 
per  cent  and  severely  taxed  the  power  of  all  makes  of  automobiles, 
much  complaint  of  that  route  was  heard,  so  that  the  commission's  en- 
gineers began,  in  191 6,  the  survey  for  a  new  road  which,  by  passing 
a  longer  distance  on  the  northerly  side,  would  reduce  the  grades  to  a 
maximum  of  six  per  cent. 


THE    CAMDEN   TURNPIKE 

The  District  of  Maine  was  next  to  be  favored,  and  we  find  the  Cam- 
den Turnpike  was  incorporated  June  23,  1802.  This  company  was 
also  known  by  the  name  of  its  chief  promoter,  Daniel  Barrett,  and  by 
the  name  of  Meguntikook  Mountain.  It  was  the  first  project  that  had 
the  courage  to  make  a  survey  before  obtaining  its  charter,  and  the 
description  of  its  route  is  worth  reading. 

Beginning  at  a  birch  tree,  the  boundary  line  between  the  plantation  of  Canaan 
and  the  town  of  Camden;  thence  running  south  four  degrees  east,  forty-four  rods; 
south  six  degrees  east,  forty  rods;  south  seventeen  degrees  east  fifty-four  rods;  south 
twenty  degrees  east,  one  hundred  twenty-six  rods;  south  thirty-two  degrees  east, 
fifty- four  rods;  to  the, southeasterly  side  of  Smelt  Brook,  so  called  agreeably  to  the 
plan  and  survey  of  said  road,  being  about  one  mile  in  length ;  and  that  the  made 
way  and  path  for  travelling  be  in  no  place  less  than  ten  feet  wide,  and  where  the 
mountain  and  pond  will  admit,  to  be  sixteen  feet  wide,  with  eleven  places  for  turn- 
ing out,  at  proper  distances,  as  marked  in  the  plan  and  survey  of  said  road,  for  the 
accommodation  of  teams  in  passing  over  the  said  Megunticook  Mountain. 

One  gate  was  allowed,  which  was  located  at  the  southerly  end  of  the 
turnpike.  No  returns  were  ever  filed  by  this  company,  so  we  have  no 
authentic  data  of  the  cost  nor  of  the  business  done,  and  were  it  not  for 
Robinson's  "  History  of  Camden  and  Rockport  "  we  probably  should 
know  nothing  of  the  road.  But  that  tells  us  that  the  road  was  built 
at  a  reported  cost  of  five  to  six  thousand  dollars,  and  that  from  three 
to  six  years  were  occupied  in  the  work.  The  cost,  it  will  be  noticed,  was 
excessive  for  a  dirt  road,  and  was  so  great  on  account  of  the  tremendous 
amount  of  grading  required  and  the  large  amount  of  rock  handled. 
The  turnpike  was  designed  to  connect  Camden  Harbor  with  Lincolnville 
Center,  supplanting  the  earlier  road  which  led  over  Meguntikook  Moun- 
tain, and  which  could  not  be  traveled  by  any  sort  of  vehicle,  being  even 
[104] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

dangerous  for  a  horse.  It  passed  through  narrow  defiles,  over  lofty 
cliffs,  and  on  the  edges  of  precipices  where  a  misstep  would  result  in 
horse  and  rider  being  hurled  into  rocky  chasms  hundreds  of  feet  below. 
It  was  a  section  of  road  dreaded  by  all  who  had  to  travel  it,  but  never- 
theless a  favorite  place  for  those  with  leisure  to  gratify  their  love  of 
nature.  Such  a  road  became  intolerable  as  soon  as  business  began  to 
make  any  demands  upon  it,  and  Daniel  Barrett  boldly  attacked  the 
problem  by  cutting  directly  through  between  the  base  of  the  mountain 
and  the  lake.  The  photograph  shown  gives  an  excellent  idea  of  Mr. 
Barrett's  audacity.  The  lake  here  is  close  to  the  road  on  the  left,  and 
but  for  the  shelter  of  the  summer's  leaves  on  the  trees  would  occupy 
a  large  part  of  the  picture.  It  is  very  likely  that  the  water  washed  the 
very  foot  of  the  cliff  shown,  and  that  only  the  turnpike  construction 
forced  it  away. 

When  one  considers  the  lack  of  all  sorts  of  conveniences  for  doing 
such  work,  even  shovels  being  obtainable  only  in  small  numbers,  the 
courage  and  energy  of  Daniel  Barrett  in  undertaking  a  work  of  such 
magnitude  must  be  held  in  reverence.  The  lake  must  have  been  deep 
where  he  desired  to  make  his  road,  for  we  are  told  that  it  was  necessary 
to  detach  large  rocks  from  the  steep  mountain  side  and  roll  them  into 
the  lake,  there  to  form  a  rough  retaining  wall,  within  which  smaller 
rocks  and  stones  and  finally  earth  were  placed  to  form  the  road.  Every 
common  expedient  was  used  in  thus  detaching  the  rocks,  undermining 
bowlders,  and  blasting  granite.  Large  rocks  were  prepared  for  their 
trip  to  the  lake  by  digging  under  the  lower  sides  and  substituting  props 
from  time  to  time.  When  enough  earth  had  been  taken  away,  it  was 
necessary  for  someone  to  knock  out  the  props,  a  decidedly  risky  piece 
of  work. 

The  number  of  workmen  varied  from  five  to  fifty,  many  of  them 
being  local  residents  who  performed  their  labor  in  consideration  of  free 
passes  over  the  toll  road  when  opened,  those  who  worked  a  specified 
length  of  time  being  entitled  to  pass  free  for  life. 

Camden  at  that  time  numbered  but  eight  hundred  and  seventy-two 
residents,  so  we  are  not  surprised  to  learn  that  Mr.  Barrett  did  not 
receive  legal  interest  on  the  money  he  expended.  But  he  kept  up  the 
business  until  1834,  when  he  sold  out  to  various  citizens  in  behalf  of 
the  towns  for  three  hundred  dollars. 

Of  the  road  to-day  Robinson  writes: 

Words  are  inadequate  to  give  an  appropriate  impression  of  its  romantic  scenery. 
It  must  be  seen  to  be  properly  appreciated.  Riding  along  this  drive  the  traveller 
sees  on  one  hand,  the  steep  and  rocky  cliff  rising  to  a  height  of  nearly  one  thousand 
feet,  with  rocks  and  boulders  of  all  sizes  and  descriptions  lying  at  its  base  as  if 
hurled  there  by  the  hand  of  Jove,  and  Maiden  Cliff  standing  clear  cut  against  the 
sky,  while  on  the  other  hand  lie  the  sparkling  waters  of  Lake  Meguntikook,  gemmed 
with  green  capes  and  islets,  with  the  western  mountains  rising  from  its  opposite 
shores.  Grandeur  and  loveliness  combined  make  the  Turnpike  a  unique  spot  in  our 
scenery,  which  has  been  celebrated  often  in  prose  and  verse. 

[105] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

On  June  24,  1802,  the  First  Maine  Turnpike  Corporation  was 
granted  its  franchise  to  build  a  turnpike  road 

from  Harriman's  Ferry,  in  the  town  of  Prospect,  on   Penobscot  River,  to  the  Kenne- 
bec Bridge  in  Augusta. 

North's  "  History  of  Augusta  "  informs  us  that  there  were  but  two 
chaises  in  that  town  in  1798,  and  that  the  first  four-wheeled  carriage 
was  introduced  in  1800,  so  it  is  hard  to  see  any  encouragement  for  a 
turnpike  with  that  town  for  a  terminal.  The  stage  route  between 
Bangor  and  Waterville  in  1835  followed  practically  the  line  of  the 
present  railroad,  passing  through  the  towns  of  Carmel,  Newport,  Pal- 
myra, Pittsfield,  and  Clinton,  and  swinging  a  huge  bow  over  the  pro- 
posed straight  line  of  the  turnpike.  As  the  stages  followed  the  turn- 
pikes, we  are  justified  in  concluding  that  the  First  Maine  was  never 
built. 


THE    FIRST   CUMBERLAND   TURNPIKE 

A  corporation  was  created  June  24,  1802,  with  a  franchise  to  build 
a  short  road  in  Scarboro  in  the  District  of  Maine. 

Tourists  between  Saco  and  Portland  by  trolley  or  automobile,  pass- 
ing through  the  village  of  West  Scarboro,  or  Dunstan's  Corner  as  it 
is  locally  known,  and  within  a  very  short  distance  after  passing  the  sol- 
diers' monument,  going  toward  Portland,  will  observe  a  country  road 
bearing  off  to  the  left.  That  was  the  old  road,  and  the  one  straight 
ahead  was  the  First  Cumberland  Turnpike,  and  the  first  buildings  on  the 
left  of  the  corporation's  road  were  the  farm  buildings  and  home  of 
Horatio  Southgate,  the  leading  spirit  in  the  turnpike  three  quarters  of 
a  century  ago. 

Just  north  of  Old  Orchard  Beach  is  the  narrow  outlet  of  a  broad 
area  of  marshland  which  extends  inland  for  a  distance  of  about  three 
miles.  The  early  road  between  Boston  and  Portland  bore  well  in- 
land to  avoid  this  marshy  tract,  and  at  West  Scarboro  made  a  wide 
detour  around  it,  passing  over  Scottows  Hill,  and  traversing  a  length 
of  over  two  and  a  half  miles  between  points  less  than  a  mile  and  a  half 
apart.  Over  that  interval  the  turnpike  was  built,  probably  soon  after 
the  granting  of  the  charter. 

It  was  on  a  raw,  rainy,  January  day  that  the  writer  stepped  from 
a  trolley  car  at  Dunstan's  Corner  in  his  search  for  data  on  this  old 
road.  Having  a  tip  that  Mr.  Noah  Pillsbury  of  that  village  was  once 
the  collector  of  tolls,  he  sought  him  out  and  found  him,  although 
seventy-eight  years  old,  performing  the  duties  of  rural  mail  carrier,  and 
driving  over  his  route  of  twenty-five  miles  every  day.  He  gladly  wel- 
comed the  searcher,  made  him  welcome  to  all  he  had  to  impart,  and 
proudly  exhibited  the  treasurer's  book  of  the  corporation  from  1834 
to  the  end  of  business.  From  that  book  the  accompanying  chart  of 
[106] 


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THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

business  done  was  compiled.  It  shows,  as  do  many  of  the  others,  the 
large  increase  in  stage  and  wagon  traffic,  reaching  a  climax  in  the 
thirties,  with  a  disastrous  slump  upon  the  advent  of  the  railroads. 

The  tollhouse  stood  north  of  the  Southgate  house,  within  speaking 
distance,  and  the  gate  was  a  horizontal  bar  swinging  in  a  quarter  circle, 
and  pivoted  on  top  of  a  post.  The  cost  of  a  new  gate  is  given  as  $5.97 
in  the  accounts  for  1836.  The  rate  of  toll  for  a  one-horse  wagon  was 
eight  cents,  but  if  the  wagon  had  a  top,  it  was  regarded  as  an  indication 
of  the  ability  to  pay  more,  and  twelve  cents  was  assessed  accordingly. 
Stages  were  mulcted  twenty-five  cents  for  passage  over  this  mile  and  a 
half,  which  so  wrought  upon  the  feelings  of  the  owner  of  Paine's  line 
of  stages  that  he  built,  at  his  own  expense,  a  road  of  several  miles'  length 
by  which  the  turnpike  could  be  avoided.  As  he  never  collected  tolls  on 
his  new  road,  it  is  but  just  that  his  name  should  be  perpetuated  in 
"  Paine  Road." 

The  artillery  of  the  anti-turnpike  sentiment  was  turned  on  this  cor- 
poration in  1834,  when  representations  were  made  to  the  Maine  legis- 
lature that  the  earnings  of  the  road  had  been  sufficient  to  repay  the 
original  investment  with  twelve-per-cent  interest,  and  that,  therefore, 
under  the  conditions  imposed  by  the  Massachusetts  act  of  incorporation, 
the  road  should  become  free.  By  vote  of  both  houses  the  attorney- 
general  was  instructed  to  institute  proceedings  to  dissolve  the 
corporation. 

The  attorney-general  did  a  little  investigating,  however,  before  tak- 
ing any  drastic  action,  and  called  upon  Horatio  Southgate,  the  treasurer 
of  the  corporation  and  chairman  of  the  standing  committee,  who  exhib- 
ited the  books  to  him  and  showed  that  the  earnings  had  not  realized  the 
conditions  alleged.  The  attorney-general's  report  to  that  effect  was 
referred  by  the  governor  to  a  committee  of  the  legislature  which  re- 
ported the  same  in  March,  1835.  Thereupon  it  was  voted  that  pro- 
ceedings should  not  be  instituted. 

Ten  days  later  the  representations  of  sufficient  earnings  were  re- 
newed, and  a  resolution  was  adopted  giving  the  governor  authority  to 
call  for  the  corporation's  books  and  to  appoint  one  or  more  auditors  to 
investigate  them.  No  report  has  been  found,  and  this  seems  to  mark 
the  end  of  the  agitation. 

In  1847  tne  proprietors  of  Vaughn's  Bridge,  between  Portland  and 
South  Portland,  finding  that  travel  over  the  Paine  Road  was  diverting 
business  from  their  bridge,  made  a  contract  with  the  management  of 
the  First  Cumberland  Turnpike,  whereby  the  collection  of  tolls  was 
discontinued  in  consideration  of  a  yearly  payment  by  the  bridge  com- 
pany of  one  hundred  dollars.  This  arrangement  lasted  through  the  year 
1 85 1,  after  which  the  turnpike  company  endeavored  by  resuming  the 
collections  and  making  repairs  to  derive  more  revenue.  But  the  day 
for  such  operations  was  past,  and  after  struggling  along  for  a  few  years, 
with  no  dividends,  the  road  was  sold  to  the  county  for  two  thousand 
[no] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

dollars,  to  which  the  town  of  Scarboro  added  five  hundred.  The  toll- 
house was  sold  in  i860  for  thirty-six  dollars  and  moved  to  its  present 
position,  near  the  corner  where  the  branch  car  line  to  Old  Orchard 
turns  off,  where,  with  a  second  story  tucked  under  the  original  roof,  it 
now  serves  as  a  dwelling-house. 

THE    BELCHERTOWN   AND    GREENWICH    TURNPIKE 

The  first  of  the  sixteen  companies  created  in  the  enthusiasm  of  the 
year  1803  was  the  Belchertown  and  Greenwich  Turnpike  Corporation, 
which  dates  from  February  7  of  that  year.  It  was  to  build  its  road  from 
Belchertown,  through  Enfield,  to  the  South  Parish  in  Greenwich,  and  by 
an  act  passed  in  1805  was  allowed  to  extend  to  the  North  Parish  in 
Greenwich. 

It  would  seem  that  this  company  did  not  meet  with  success  on  its  first 
attempt  for  a  charter,  for  we  learn  from  Parmenter's  "  History  of 
Pelham  "  that  that  town  voted,  a  year  prior  to  the  date  of  the  act  which 
incorporated  the  company,  to  have  its  representative  in  the  general 
court  oppose  the  granting  of  the  franchise.  It  was  then  proposed  to 
run  the  road  perhaps  well  to  the  east  and  into  the  town  of  Hardwick; 
and  Pelham,  which  then  included  part  of  the  present  town  of  Prescott 
and  adjoined  Greenwich,  would  have  been  left  far  to  one  side.  But 
failure  to  secure  the  franchise  in  1802  did  not  discourage  the  promoters 
and  their  renewed  efforts  in  1803  brought  success,  although  it  may  be 
surmised  that  they  compromised  with  Pelham  by  running  a  little  nearer 
to  the  boundaries  of  that  town.  But  the  raising  of  money  apparently 
was  slow,  for  an  extension  of  the  time  within  which  they  might  build 
was  granted  in  1807,  as  they  had  actually  begun  operations. 

At  the  January  term  of  court  in  1807  a  committee  had  been  ap- 
pointed to  lay  out  the  road  and  its  report  was  presented  a  year  later. 
The  location,  as  found  in  the  Hampshire  records,  is  given  by  metes  and 
bounds,  by  means  of  which  we  are  able  to  trace  the  road  to-day.  It 
commenced  at  the  corner  of  the  roads  southwest  of  Snow's  Pond  in 
Belchertown,  and  ran  easterly  and  northeasterly  through  Enfield  Vil- 
lage, thence  northerly  crossing  the  south  end  of  Davis  Pond  to  Green- 
wich Village,  where  it  joined  the  Petersham  and  Monson  Turnpike. 
That  road,  chartered  in  1804,  had  already  been  built  between  the  South 
and  North  Parishes  in  Greenwich,  so  the  Belchertown  and  Greenwich 
did  not  avail  itself  of  its  right  to  build  to  the  latter  place.  Curiously 
enough  the  locating  committee  reported  the  end  of  its  layout  as  "  the 
North  Parish  meeting-house,"  but  the  surveyor's  description  plainly 
shows  that  it  stopped  at  the  South  Parish. 

Returns  were  filed  for  1808-15,  by  which  we  see  that  the  net  earn- 
ings for  the  best  year  amounted  to  three  and  one  half  per  cent  on  the 
cost  of  the  road.  Construction  cost  was  $4899.83,  or  about  $633  a 
mile. 

[in] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

A  petition  filed  in  1825  stated  that  the  road  had  been  abandoned  by 
the  corporation  and  was  badly  in  need  of  repairs,  but  since  it  was  a 
public  necessity,  prayer  was  made  that  the  county  should  lay  it  out  as 
a  public  highway.  Such  was  accordingly  done,  with  a  total  award  of 
fifteen  dollars  for  damages,  which  were  granted  to  one  individual,  the 
company  getting  nothing. 

THE    FIFTEENTH    MASSACHUSETTS   TURNPIKE 

Again  the  regimental  system  of  designating  was  resumed,  and  we 
next  consider  the  Fifteenth  Massachusetts  Turnpike  Corporation,  the 
product  of  an  act  passed  February  12,  1803.  This  company  built  about 
nineteen  and  a  half  miles  at  an  expense  of  about  $840  a  mile.  The 
road  was  what  is  now  known  as  the  "  Sandy  Brook  Road  "  in  the  south- 
west part  of  Sandisfield,  and  it  continued  through  New  Marlboro 
at  Hartsville,  and  over  the  top  of  Three  Mile  Hill  in  Great  Barrington, 
to  the  southerly  line  of  Stockbridge.  Although  the  charter  was  granted 
in  1803  it  appears  that  the  road  was  not  built  for  several  years,  for  an 
extension  of  the  time  for  construction  was  granted  in  1807,  giving  until 
February,  1809,  for  that  purpose.  Returns  of  receipts  and  disburse- 
ments were,  made  for  the  years  18 10  and  181 1,  which  probably  indi- 
cates the  time  of  completion  of  the  road.  Gross  income  for  18 10  is 
given  as  $114.81,  on  an  investment  of  $16,353,  while  181 1  shows  equal 
receipts  and  payments  of  $193.23. 

It  seems  that  the  county  laid  out  a  public  road  which  entered  the 
turnpike  about  three  quarters  of  a  mile  south  of  the  Stockbridge  line 
and  followed  it  thence  northerly,  for  an  act  was  passed  by  the  legisla- 
ture in  1812  by  which  that  portion  of  the  turnpike  was  discontinued, 
although  the  gates  were  allowed  to  stand  as  they  had  been,  with  no 
reduction  in  rates  of  toll. 

In  1829,  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  September,  as  shown  by  the  Berk- 
shire County  records,  the  Fifteenth  Massachusetts  asked  that  its  road 
might  become  a  part  of  the  public  system,  and  the  request  being  granted 
the  gates  ceased  their  functions. 

The  "  History  of  the  County  of  Berkshire,"  already  mentioned,  says 
that,  although  discontinued  as  a  turnpike,  this  road  was  a  county  road 
of  considerable  importance. 

The  Sixteenth  Massachusetts  Turnpike  Corporation,  ushered  into 
existence  February  14,  1803,  met  a  chilly  reception  from  the  money 
powers.  Its  time  limit  was  successively  extended  for  ten  years,  and  it 
finally  was  allowed  to  lapse.  It  would  appear  by  the  Hampden  County 
records  that  a  layout  was  made  in  1812  for  the  road  "  from  Berkshire 
County  line  easterly,"  but  no  approval  of  construction  is  found.  A 
location  was  made  in  Berkshire  in  1804,  which  does  not  appear  to  have 
been  utilized  either. 

[113] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


THE   WISCASSET   AND   AUGUSTA   TURNPIKE 

February  22  was  the  date  of  the  act  which  created  the  Wiscasset  and 
Augusta  Turnpike  Corporation  for  the  purpose  of  connecting  those 
Maine  towns,  and  its  road  was  to  run  from  the  Wiscasset  courthouse 
to  the  newly  built  Kennebec  toll  bridge  in  Augusta. 

The  records  of  the  court  of  sessions  of  Lincoln  County  show  that 
the  promoters  early  got  to  work  with  a  petition  for  a  committee  to  lay 
out  and  locate  the  road,  and  presented  the  same  at  the  May  term  of 
1803.  But  not  until  January,  1807,  was  the  committee  appointed,  and 
they  duly  reported  a  location  from  the  Wiscasset  courthouse  to  Bridges' 
Bridge  in  Dresden. 

This  turnpike  formed  a  link  in  a  series  of  such  roads  which  extended 
from  Brunswick  to  Augusta,  and  rendered  feasible  a  journey  from  the 
latter  town  to  Portland,  Boston,  and  beyond. 

Stone's  "  History  of  Beverly"  tells  us  that  that  town  in  1803' con- 
curred in  the  petition  of  John  Heard  et  al.  for  a  turnpike  from  Beverly 
to  Newburyport,  but  the  project  was  prosecuted  no  further  than  to 
secure  the  act  of  incorporation.  That  was  the  Ipswich  Turnpike  Cor- 
poration, chartered  March  1,  1803.  • 


THE    MEDFORD   TURNPIKE 

The  Medford  Turnpike  Corporation,  dating  from  March  2,  1803, 
was,  according  to  Brooks'  "  History  of  Medford,"  occupied  for  three 
years  in  efforts  to  obtain  its  charter.  The  road  of  this  company  was 
laid  out  by  the  proper  committee  in  1803,  and  its  construction  approved 
by  the  court  in  September,  1804.  Brooks  tells  us  that  it  was  never 
profitable,  but  considering  the  nearness  to  Boston  with  the  large  tribu- 
tary region  back  of  it,  and  the  fact  that  the  corporation  strenuously 
resisted  efforts  to  take  away  its  toll  privileges,  continuing  to  operate  its 
road  for  over  sixty  years,  we  may  reasonably  doubt  this.  Of  course 
no  turnpike  was  a  gilt-edged  security,  but  the  Medford  must  have  been 
one  of  the  best  and  a  moderate  dividend  payer.  A  public  highway  was 
opened  over  Winter  Hill  not  long  after  the  turnpike  was  opened,  over 
which  free  passage  could  be  had,  but  enough  travelers  still  preferred 
to  follow  the  toll  road  to  make  it  worth  keeping.  Efforts  by  the  town  of 
Medford  to  throw  the  road  open  were  successfully  resisted  in  1838,  and 
not  until  1866  was  a  step  accomplished  toward  that  end.  In  that  year 
the  legislature  allowed  the  Middlesex  county  commissioners  to  make  a 
public  layout,  put  the  road  in  proper  repair,  and  assess  the  cost  upon 
various  towns  and  the  county,  provided  the  corporation  consented  and 
asked  no  damages.  This  was  accordingly  done,  and  in  1867  the  road 
finally  became  free.    The  turnpike  to-day  is  known  as  Mystic  Avenue, 

[»4] 


BOSTON, 

Plymouth  $■  Sandwich 

MAJDL  STAGE, 

COSTLM  KS  TO  W '.V  J$  lot  l.nit  s 


i.i:.\\  i>  i'. 


v  Tu.-.1.\.  T 


l»  Sn  • i     ,  nitiii  - 

•r.i'-.  1'jvii.  ., 
unci  arrix   in  .  •  I  i-.n.  .  s..,;:  .  ,  •.  M,„|. 

day,  \\<'liH-<!r   and  Frirltn  mornings  ikfast  a(  UradliirdV,  I'!  v  mould: 

dim    iit   I  ■  d  »rriv<    ;n   I'f- ,~iini  fix'  > mi,    i  v<  [ i m i -_r 

Passing  flirmigl)  Don  i<<  -i<  r,  On  \w      \\  *.  mouth,   lliitiriuuii,  S  uuaii-, 
Hanover,  Pcmim*!"  ,  Kingston,  I'lviuonthio  Sandwich.     I'urt, 

from  15<»s(<-i(  1.    Si  (oft  &5  ctH     From  Button  !  1  Plymouth,  .'dolls. 

SOtts.     From  Boston  t<    Kuudwkh,  let*. 


*J-S'i'.\<,l     KJOKS 


HOSTON,  A   tn 


U.ONAHD  &  WOODWARD. 


Plate  XXIII 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

and  is  the  long  straight  street  leading  from  the  Sullivan  Square  Ter- 
minal of  the  Boston  Elevated  Railway  in  Charlestown  to  Medford. 

Realizing  the  possibilities  of  large  business  for  the  tavern  keeper 
when  the  Medford  Turnpike  turned  so  much  Boston  travel  through 
Medford,  Andrew  Blanchard  built  the  Medford  House  the  same  year 
that  the  turnpike  was  finished.  These  buildings  are  still  standing  in 
Medford  on  Main  Street,  and  offer  the  best  illustration  of  the  accom- 
modations offered  in  the  old  stage  days  which  the  writer  remembers 
to  have  seen.  The  old-fashioned  tavern  seems  typical,  and  the  large 
barn  with  its  spacious  yard  and  sheds  still  suggests  the  day  when  numer- 
ous stages  and  Conestoga  wagons  spent  the  nights  within  its  limits. 

The  Mystic  Marshes  across  which  the  Medford  Turnpike  made  its 
way  were  dreary  and  lonesome  in  1821,  and  late  one  afternoon  in  that 
year,  as  Major  John  Bray  and  his  wife  were  driving  along  the  turnpike 
in  their  one-horse  chaise,  they  were  held  up  and  robbed  by  Michael 
Martin,  who  had  achieved  an  extensive  and  unenviable  reputation  in 
that  line  of  business,  and  who  subsequently  ended  his  career  on  the 
gallows  at  Lechmere  Point. 


THE   BRAINTREE   AND   WEYMOUTH    TURNPIKE 

One  of  the  important  eastern  roads  now  appears,  the  Braintree  and 
Weymouth  Turnpike  Corporation  being  incorporated  March  4,  1803, 
to  build  a  road  along  the  route  now  occupied  by  Quincy  Avenue  in 
Quincy  and  Braintree,  Washington  Street  in  Weymouth,  and  Whiting 
Street  in  Hingham,  thus  extending  from  Quincy  Center  to  Queen  Anne 
Corner  on  the  boundary  line  between  Hingham  and  Norwell,  which  was 
then  a  part  of  Scituate.  This  was  on  the  main  route  between  Boston, 
Plymouth,  and  Cape  Cod  towns,  and  was  beyond  a  doubt  the  route  over 
which  traveled  the  stage  so  quaintly  advertised  in  the  poster  which  is 
here  reproduced. 

The  road  which  this  corporation  built  was  about  eight  and  one  half 
miles  in  length,  and  its  cost  was  reported  to  the  secretary  of  state  as 
$38,250,  or  about  $4500  a  mile.  Returns  of  business  done  were  filed 
for  the  years  18 10  to  1821,  and  1828  to  1849,  and  from  them  the  ac- 
companying chart  was  prepared.  Unlike  those  of  other  companies,  it 
shows  the  peak  of  business  in  the  year  1845  and  a  sloughing-off  of  re- 
ceipts sufficient  to  cause  the  practical  abandonment  of  the  road  before 
the  opening  of  the  competing  railroad. 

In  November,  1849,  a  complaint  was  entered  by  the  turnpike  com- 
pany against  the  South  Shore  Railroad  Company,  which  was  the  name 
first  given  to  the  railroad  running  from  Braintree,  through  Hingham 
and  Cohasset,  to  Plymouth.     It  set  forth  that  the  railroad  company 

have,  since  said  turnpike  road  has  been  established  constructed  a  railroad  across  said 
Turnpike  road  at  Braintree  in  the  County  of  Norfolk  and  have  obstructed  the  free 

[115] 


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EH 

THE  TURNPIKES   OF  MASSACHUSETTS 


passage  over  said  Turnpike,  taken  a  portion  of  the  same,  diverted  the  travel  there- 
from, and  otherwise  greatly  injured  your  petitioners'  road  and  rendered  it  of  no 
value. 

At  the  hearing  held  at  the  hotel  of  Asa  B.  Wales  in  Weymouth  tes- 
timony showing  loss  of  toll  by  diverted  travel  and  fear  of  collisions  at 
the  crossing  was  rejected  as  "  legally  inadmifsable,"  but  the  turnpike 
company  was  allowed  to  prove  loss  of  toll  while  the  turnpike  was 
obstructed  during  construction  of  the  railroad.  The  commissioners 
awarded  damages  to  the  extent  of  three  dollars  to  the  turnpike  corpora- 
tion and  assessed  the  costs  upon  the  railroad. 

Fifteen  years  after  the  incorporation  and  more  than  ten  since  the 
laying  out  of  the  road,  some  technical  omission  seems  to  have  been 
found  in  the  proceedings,  and  the  legislature  was  appealed  to  for  an  act 
confirming  the  layout,  which  was  granted  February  20,  181 8.  At  the 
same  late  date  authority  was  obtained  to  finally  settle  the  cost  of  the  right 
of  way,  and  one  landowner  who  had  persistently  refused  to  accept  the 
company's  offers  was  obliged  to  close  the  account. 

The  Braintree  and  Weymouth  evidently  was  not  in  favor  with  the 
legislature  of  1850,  for  we  find  some  harsh  terms  laid  down.  In  case 
of  a  public  layout  of  the  whole  or  any  part  of  the  turnpike,  if  the 
corporation  did  not  accept  whatever  might  be  awarded  it,  it  should  at 
once  lose  the  privilege  of  collecting  one  half  of  its  authorized  tolls. 

This  company  died  in  sections.  In  September,  185  1,  all  that  portion 
lying  in  Hingham  was  laid  out  as  a  public  road  by  the  commissioners 
of  Plymouth  County,  the  corporation  receiving  two  hundred  and  fifty 
dollars  as  compensation.  Portions  of  the  road  in  Norfolk  County  were 
laid  out  by  the  commissioners  in  Braintree,  Weymouth,  and  Quincy  in 
the  same  year;  a  further  portion  in  Weymouth  in  1852;  and  the  "  Queen 
Anne,"  which  must  have  been  the  lower  end  of  the  same  road,  in  1854. 
But  the  corporation  still  retained  a  section  of  road  in  Weymouth  and 
Braintree  with  the  bridge  over  Weymouth  Fore  River,  which  it  op- 
erated for  a  few  years  longer. 

The  Neponset  Toll  Bridge,  crossing  the  Neponset  River  between 
Dorchester  and  Quincy,  necessarily  had  to  build  sections  of  road  at  each 
end  of  the  bridge  in  order  to  make  it  accessible,  and  the  bridge,  with 
its  connecting  roads,  made  practically  a  unit  with  the  Braintree  and 
Weymouth  Turnpike  in  the  route  from  Boston  to  Plymouth.  Hence 
we  find  them  treated  together  in  the  legislation  of  May  26,  1857. 
In  the  act  of  that  date  it  was  provided  that  the  Norfolk  county  com- 
missioners could,  with  the  consent  of  the  proprietors,  lay  out  the  Brain- 
tree and  Weymouth  Turnpike  and  the  Neponset  Bridge  as  common 
highways,  but  they  were  not  to  assess  any  betterment  charges  upon  the 
towns.  Instead,  the  collection  of  tolls  was  to  be  continued  under  the 
direction  of  the  commissioners,  deficiencies  to  be  met  by  the  county,  and 
surplus  to  accumulate  until  it  amounted  to  a  fund  sufficient  to  yield 
interest  to  amount  of  cost  of  maintenance.     This  act  took  effect  upon 

["7] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


being  ratified  at  a  Quincy  town  meeting,  and  it  seems  strange  that,  with 
the  number  of  turnpike  companies  that  had  recently  gone  out  of  busi- 
ness and  the  generally  poor  nature  of  such  investments,  the  state  legis- 
lators and  a  majority  of  Quincy  citizens  as  well  should  have  thought 
the  plan  advisable.  But  there  were  many  toll  bridges  in  New  England 
at  that  time,  and  the  Neponset  Bridge  was  a  pretty  good  paying  prop- 
erty, so  it  is  probable  that  the  turnpike  end  was  but  a  minor  considera- 
tion, and  that  the  main  object  in  view  was  the  removal  of  the  two 
bridges  from  private  ownership  that  they  might  ultimately  become  free 
to  all  travelers. 

The  accounts  of  the  commissioners  at  Dedham  show  that  the  turn- 
pike and  its  bridge  was  operated  at  a  net  loss  of  $1766.37,  from  March 
14,  1859,  to  July  x)  1862;  but  the  revenue  from  the  Neponset  Bridge 
was  sufficient  to  show  a  gain  on  the  whole  account,  which  amounted  to 
$7224.72  on  the  first  of  the  year  1863.  An  act  was  then  passed  pro- 
viding that  the  operation  should  continue  until  the  surplus  had  reached 
the  sum  of  $15,000,  when  roads  and  bridges  should  become  free  and 
the  fund  be  divided  between  the  various  towns  in  which  the  properties 
lay.  Bristol  county  commissioners  were  to  divide  the  fund,  as  the 
Norfolk  officials  were  the  trustees. 

During  the  first  nine  months  of  1863  the  increase  in  the  fund  was 
$2564.70,  and  on  September  13,  1863,  the  bridges  and  the  turnpike 
became  free,  although  only  $9789.42  of  the  required  $15,000  had  been 
laid  aside  from  tolls. 

The  Quincy  Railroad  Company  was  incorporated  February  15, 
1 861,  to  operate  a  line  of  horse  cars  from  Quincy  to  Dorchester,  pass- 
ing over  the  Neponset  Bridge,  for  which  privilege  it  was  to  pay  toll 
either  periodically  or  in  gross.  As  the  road  commenced  operations 
about  the  time  the  bridge  became  free,  it  seems  obvious  that  the  railroad 
company  supplied  the  deficiency  and  brought  the  fund  up  to  the  pre- 
scribed $15,000. 

The  Braintree  and  Weymouth  Turnpike  Corporation  was  favored 
with  long  service  by  James  H.  Foster,  who  was  its  treasurer  during  the 
entire  period  of  thirty-nine  years  for  which  returns  were  made. 

THE    CHESTER   TURNPIKE 

The  name  of  Chester  was  given  to  two  turnpike  corporations,  the 
first  being  created  by  the  act  of  March  5,  1803,  to  build  a  road  from 
the  West  Parish  in  Partridgefield,  through  Middlefield  and  Chester,  to 
Parley  Cook's  in  Chester.  Probably  on  no  other  turnpike  are  so  many 
changes  of  name  and  township  allegiance  to  be  noted.  The  West  Parish 
of  Partridgefield  became  a  part  of  the  new  town  of  Hinsdale  in  1804; 
Partridgefield  itself  became  Peru  in  1806;  while  it  appears  that  Parley 
Cook's  farm  was  transferred  from  Chester  into  Norwich  in  1853,  and 
found  itself  a  part  of  Huntington  in  1855.  In  three  counties  was  the 
[118] 


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THE   TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

road  located:  in  Berkshire  in  1804,  and  in  Hampden  and  Hampshire 
in  1805,  as  is  seen  upon  the  records  of  each. 

The  road  apparently  commenced  on  the  southwest  side  of  Great 
Moose  Hill,  which  is  now  in  the  southwesterly  part  of  Huntington 
near  the  West  Branch  of  the  Westfield  River,  and  followed  over  what 
is  now  known  as  the  "  Cook  Road,"  to  Chester  Center,  over  the  Chester 
Hill  Road  and  South  Street  to  Middlefield  Center,  and  thence  by  North 
Street  up  the  valley  of  Factory  Brook  across  the  southwest  corner  of 
Peru,  and  into  Hinsdale  over  Southeast  Street. 

Nothing  has  been  found  to  indicate  when  the  corporation  ceased  to 
maintain  the  road,  but  since  the  name  of  Chester  was  given  to  another 
company  to  build  in  a  different  section  in  1822,  we  are  justified  in  con- 
cluding that  collection  of  tolls  was  discontinued  a  few  years  at  least 
before  that  date. 


THE   CAMBRIDGE   AND    CONCORD   TURNPIKE 

The  Cambridge  and  Concord  Turnpike  Corporation  was  chartered 
March  8,  1803,  to  provide  facilities  between  those  towns.  This  com- 
pany suffered  so  severely  from  the  straight-line  mania  that  it  is  said  they 
attempted  to  have  their  road  laid  out  diagonally  across  Cambridge 
Common  so  as  to  preserve  direct  alignment,  but  fortunately  they  did 
not  succeed.  On  March  5,  1805,  an  extension  of  the  road  was  author- 
ized "  to  the  causeway  of  West  Boston  Bridge,  in  as  straight  a  line  as 
circumstances  will  admit,"  but  it  was  not  to  be  allowed  to  pass  within 
ninety  feet  of  Stoughton  Hall,  which  was  mentioned  as  "  the  new  build- 
ing of  Harvard  College." 

At  the  May  term  of  the  Middlesex  court  of  sessions  in  1803  the 
corporation  entered  a  petition  for  a  committee  to  assess  damages  but 
not  to  locate  the  road,  —  such  a  strange  request  that  we  are  not  sur- 
prised to  find  that  it  was  withdrawn  at  the  next  term  in  November,  and 
a  petition  for  a  locating  committee  substituted.  The  resulting  committee 
seems  to  have  established  a  record  for  expeditious  work,  for  its  warrant 
was  not  issued  until  August  17,  and  yet  it  reported  the  location,  with 
awards  for  damages,  at  the  next  September  term.  According  to  the 
law  a  committee  of  the  general  court  had  gone  over  the  route  previous 
to  the  granting  of  the  charter,  and  the  committee  of  the  court  of  ses- 
sions laid  out  the  road  along  the  same  lines.  Awards  were  made  for  land 
taken  to  the  amount  of  $5258.50,  but  Andrew  Craigie  and  John  T. 
Apthorp,  to  whom  nothing  had  been  awarded,  secured  damages  by  jury 
award,  which  raised  the  total  to  $6509.73.  If  that  is  all  that  was  paid 
for  land  damages  the  cost  for  that  item  was  about  $500  a  mile,  or 
about  $62.50  an  acre. 

In  the  South  Middlesex  Registry  of  Deeds  1  is  found  the  record  of 
the  agreement  by  which  the  differences  between  the  corporation  and 

1  Volume  185,  page  61. 

[119] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

Mr.  Apthorp  were  adjusted.  By  that  it  is  seen  that  the  road  had  been 
built  over  Apthorp's  land,  on  the  northerly  side  of  Fresh  Pond,  extend- 
ing easterly  about  five  eighths  of  a  mile  from  the  crossing  of  Alewife 
Brook.  As  the  parties  could  not  agree  on  a  price,  suit  had  been  entered 
and  judgment  rendered  against  the  company  for  $732.42  in  damages 
and  $16.86  for  costs.  In  the  agreement  conveyance  is  made  of  the  strip 
of  land,  fifty  feet  wide,  occupied  by  the  turnpike,  and  payment  was  made 
to  the  company  by  Apthorp  of  $300,  in  return  for  which  the  corporation 
bound  itself  not  to  make  the  road  any  wider  and  never  to  erect  or 
maintain  a  tollgate  at  any  place  easterly  of  the  easterly  end  of  the  land 
thus  conveyed.  It  would  seem  that  this  was  a  doubtful  advantage  to  the 
corporation,  for  the  most  expensive  part  of  its  turnpike,  that  extending 
from  Cambridge  Common  to  West  Boston  Bridge  and  over  which  there 
must  have  been  a  heavy  travel,  was  thus  shut  out  from  any  toll  collec- 
tions. Mr.  Apthorp  was  evidently  too  shrewd  to  accept  any  agreement 
that  he  should  pass  free  of  toll,  with  endless  chances  of  disputes,  and  he 
took  the  surer  means  of  securing  exemption,  when  passing  from  his 
home  in  Cambridge  to  his  farm  at  Fresh  Pond,  by  shutting  out  all  chance 
of  a  gate  ever  barring  his  way. 

The  directors  of  the  corporation  were:  Richard  Richardson  and 
Jeduthan  Wellington  of  West  Cambridge,  Leonard  Hoar  of  Lincoln, 
Peter  Clark  of  Watertown,  and  James  Jones  of  Concord. 

The  "lower  part"  was  completed  by  September  3,  1805,  and  the 
rest  of  the  way  to  Concord  by  December  1,  1806.  An  order  issued  by 
the  court  in  February,  1807,  declared  the  road  open  for  business  and 
allowed  the  erection  of  two  gates  which  were  not  to  be  "  closely  located." 

In  those  days  Concord  was  the  "  shire  town  "  of  Middlesex  and  a 
place  of  considerable  commercial  importance,  in  addition  to  the  prestige 
which  follows  court  procedure,  and  with  this  town  for  one  terminal  and 
Cambridge  and  Boston  for  the  other,  this  road  of  only  about  fifteen 
miles  seems  to  have  had  special  encouragement.  No  returns  were  ever 
filed,  so  we  have  no  clue  to  the  nature  or  amount  of  business  done. 
Three  blunders  were  committed  through  yielding  to  the  straight-line 
obsession,  two  of  which  merely  added  to  the  amount  of  money  invested, 
but  the  third  of  which  caused  loss  of  business  every  day  of  operation. 
Not  to  be  swerved  from  its  aim  toward  its  objective  in  Concord,  the  cor- 
poration allowed  itself  to  be  obliged  to  build  a  scant  two  miles  from  the 
village  of  Lexington,  without  touching  that  center,  and  thereby  lost  a 
large  amount  of  heavy  teaming  from  New  Hampshire  towns,  which 
could  easily  have  been  lured  by  the  attractions  of  a  good  road.  Over 
Wellington  Hill  in  Belmont,  and  over  another  hill  near  the  Concord 
and  Lincoln  line,  the  road  was  laid  with  such  steep  grades  that  the 
location  had  to  be  almost  immediately  abandoned  for  a  better  one 
around  the  foot.  The  map  of  the  United  States  Geological  Survey  in- 
dicates that  the  road  over  Wellington  Hill  had  an  average  grade  of  over 
six  and  one  half  per  cent,  while  the  maximum  must  have  been  fully  twice 
[120] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

as  steep.  That  part  of  the  location  to-day  is  a  residential  section,  al- 
though retarded  by  the  steep  slope,  but  the  section  over  the  Lincoln 
hill  still  recalls  to  the  old  residents  memories  of  the  juicy  berries  which 
grew  uncrushed  between  the  walls. 

The  good  effects  of  broad  tires  were  much  appreciated  a  century  ago, 
and  many  turnpike  companies  gave  reduced  rates  to  wagons  so  built. 
In  March,  1804,  an  act  forbade  the  Cambridge  and  Concord  demanding 
more  than  half  toll  from  "  carts  or  waggons  with  wheel  fellies  six  inches 
wide."  No  information  is  at  hand  as  to  how  this  law  was  interpreted, 
but  it  is  not  hard  to  imagine  a  predecessor  of  our  present-day  public- 
service  officials  demanding  full  toll  because  the  "  fellies  "  slightly  ex- 
ceeded six  inches. 

The  extension  to  West  Boston  Bridge  did  not  progress  as  rapidly  as 
the  originally  proposed  portion.  A  petition  for  a  locating  committee, 
entered  in  September,  1806,  dragged  along  until  December,  18 10,  when 
it  was  dismissed  on  account  of  neither  party  appearing,  and  in  March, 
181 1,  the  corporation  petitioned  to  be  released  from  its  obligation  to 
build.  No  gate  was  to  be  allowed  on  that  portion,  which  was  to  be 
over  two  miles  in  length,  and  the  authorities  of  Harvard  College  had 
so  interfered  with  the  location  that  it  was  unsatisfactory  to  the  company, 
which  therefore  did  not  wish  to  complete  the  extension.  This  petition 
was  dismissed  at  the  January  term  in  18 12,  so  it  is  to  be  surmised  that 
the  corporation  had  to  complete  the  road  according  to  its  franchise. 
This  extension  is  the  Cambridge  Broadway  of  1919. 

In  September,  1826,  all  papers  in  the  court. of  sessions  records 
relating  to  highways  were  turned  over  to  the  county  commissioners, 
and  consequently  it  was  to  the  county  commissioners  that  the  company 
made  application  in  September,  1828,  to  be  released  from  its  obligations 
and  to  have  its  road  laid  out  as  a  public  highway,  which  was  done  in 
May,  1829. 

The  turnpikes  of  Middlesex  County  were  generally  short  lived,  an 
indication  of  poor  business,  and  a  suggestion  of  the  reason  may  be 
found  in  the  fact  that  between  1808  and  1822  one  hundred  and  fifteen 
public  roads  were  established  and  only  four  turnpikes.  With  such 
energy  directed  toward  public  roads,  it  can  readily  be  surmised  that 
turnpikes  found  too  much  free  competition  to  allow  them  to  be 
profitable. 

The  Memoirs  of  the  Concord  Social  Circle  1  tell  us  that  a  triweekly 
stage  ran  between  Concord  and  Boston  during  the  years  around  1 8 1 7, 
and  it  is  interesting  to  note  that  it  did  not  follow  the  turnpike  through 
the  woods  in  a  straight  line,  but  went  by  way  of  Lexington  usually,  and 
one  or  two  seasons  by  way  of  Bedford.  Passengers  and  their  baggage 
were  called  for  in  any  part  of  the  village  of  Concord  and  delivered 
at  any  desired  point  in  old  Boston  except  the  South  End,  similar  ac- 
commodations being  rendered  on  trips  in  the  opposite  direction.     Three 

1  Second  Series,  page  360. 

[121] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

hours  was  the  running  time  for  the  trip  in  good  weather,  and  sometimes 
five  in  bad. 

The  Cambridge  and  Concord  Turnpike  commenced  at  the  westerly 
end  of  the  West  Boston  Bridge  in  Cambridgeport,  at  what  is  now  known 
as  Kendall  Square,  its  layout  there  being  one  hundred  feet  in  width. 
From  that  point  it  followed  the  lines  of  the  present  Broadway  to  Cam- 
bridge Common,  passing  through  Magoun  Square,  where  the  Middlesex 
Turnpike,  now  Hampshire  Street,  joined  it.  At  the  Common,  had  the 
corporation  had  its  way,  the  center  line  of  the  road  would  have  passed 
close  to  the  soldiers'  monument,  and  would  have  clipped  a  generous 
portion  off  from  the  northerly  side  of  the  grounds  of  Harvard  College. 
But  the  legislature  said  they  must  not  build  within  ninety  feet  of  Har- 
vard's new  building,  and  the  town  erected  a  fence  around  its  common, 
so  the  turnpike  had  to  pass  around. 

From  the  Common  in  Cambridge  to  the  line  of  the  town  of  Lincoln 
the  old  turnpike  is  known  as  Concord  Avenue.  Through  Lincoln  it 
seems  to  lack  any  distinctive  designation,  but  Concord,  true  to  its  rich 
historic  associations,  has  named  the  road  and  so  marked  it  by  sign- 
boards "  Cambridge  Turnpike." 

From  the  Common  to  Belmont  the  old  road  is  now  lined  with  resi- 
dences, but  at  Belmont  Depot  one  gets  the  impression  of  being  in  a  park, 
so  ornamental  is  the  stone  arch  bridge  carrying  the  Fitchburg  Railroad 
overhead  and  the  hedges  lining  the  roadways  around  the  station.  At 
Belmont  town  hall  Concord  Avenue  makes  a  square  turn  to  the  right, 
gradually  rising,  and  then,  by  a  sharp  corner  to  the  left,  climbs  bravely 
to  the  top  of  Wellington  Hill.  That  is  the  turnpike  as  it  existed  after 
the  builders  came  to  their  senses  and  laid  out  a  road  possible  for  horses 
to  climb;  but  let  us  look  for  the  original  turnpike,  the  one  of  which  such 
fanciful  tales  are  told.  F.  H.  Kendall  tells  us  in  the  New  England 
Magazine  1  that  baggage  wagons  went  over  that  hill  once  but  never 
attempted  it  again,  and  that  one  farmer  who  had  a  log  team  of  two 
yoke  of  oxen,  one  pair  being  old  and  experienced,  the  other  but  partly 
broken,  had  an  especially  trying  time  coming  down  the  steep  hill,  hold- 
ing his  load  and  keeping  the  green  steers  from  bolting.  And  the  oxen 
never  could  be  coaxed  to  attempt  the  descent  of  the  hill  again. 

Standing  in  front  of  the  Belmont  town  hall  and  facing  westerly  one 
sees  in  front  and  bearing  slightly  to  the  left  an  unimposing  street  with 
the  imposing  name  of  Center  Avenue.  Following  this  avenue  the 
houses  are  soon  passed,  and  within  five  minutes  the  street  has  become 
but  a  crooked  footpath  through  a  jungle  of  thick  bushes.  Peering 
through  the  leaves  on  either  side  reveals  the  old  stone  walls  which  lined 
the  turnpike  at  a  distance  of  four  rods  apart.  To  the  experienced  eye 
the  indications  of  the  old  road  are  plain  until  a  square  corner  to  the 
right  is  met,  which  is  not  consistent  with  turnpike  procedure.  But  look 
carefully  for  the  wall  which  has  bordered  the  road  on  the  south,  and 

1  "Turnpike  Roads  of  Middlesex  County,"  August,  1903. 
[122] 


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THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 


it  will  be  seen  continuing  its  former  course  and  pushing  straight  ahead, 
while  the  modern  footpath  goes  off  to  the  north.  That  was  where  the 
old  turnpike  went,  and  traces  of  its  former  graded  roadbed  can  be 
noticed  by  sharp  eyes.  Follow  the  footpath  and  it  will  bring  you  out 
on  Concord  Avenue,  the  revised  turnpike.  Turn  to  the  left  and  go  as 
far  as  the  first  bend  in  the  road  and  you  will  see  where  the  new  route 
departed  from  the  old.  From  that  bend  on  westward  the  original  turn- 
pike can  be  traveled  for  many  miles.  Elms  are  the  distinguishing 
feature  of  the  Cambridge  and  Concord  Turnpike,  and  many  fine  speci- 
mens may  be  seen  along  its  borders. 

Just  after  crossing  the  Hobbs  Brook  Reservoir  of  the  Cambridge 
waterworks,  at  the  first  rise  in  the  road  may  be  seen  another  instance 
of  the  straight-line  obsession.  Instead  of  going  the  easy  way  on  the 
macadam  road,  push  straight  ahead  through  the  bushes  and  see  again 
the  testifying  walls  and  note  the  graded  surface  on  which  you  walk. 
Continue  your  straight  line  and  you  will  enter  the  road  again  at  the 
entrance  to  the  Farrington  Memorial,  and  the  old  turnpike  will  lie  dead 
ahead  of  you.  Two  miles  before  you  reach  Concord  the  road  will  sud- 
denly bear  to  the  left,  but  "  straight  ahead  "  you  will  see  an  opening 
through  which  the  sixty-two-wire  line  of  the  telephone  company  passes. 
Electricity  cares  nothing  for  grades,  and  conversations  by  telephone  now 
constantly  pass  and  repass  over  the  hill  that  wore  out  the  horses  of 
a  century  ago.  Where  the  old  and  the  new  come  together  again  is  also 
indicated  by  the  lines  of  telephone  wires  which  follow  the  turnpike 
thence  to  Concord. 

The  turnpike  builders  did  not  avail  themselves  of  their  privilege  to 
build  to  Concord  Common,  but  ended  their  road  where  it  intersected 
the  old  Lexington  Road,  over  which  the  British  soldiers  marched  on 
that  memorable  April  morning  twenty-nine  years  before.  Later,  that 
corner  became  famous  the  world  over,  not  from  turnpike  associations, 
but  as  the  location  of  the  home  of  the  "  Sage  of  Concord,"  Ralph 
Waldo  Emerson. 


THE    NEWBURYPORT   TURNPIKE 

On  the  same  day  as  the  Cambridge  and  Concord  the  Newburyport 
Turnpike  Corporation  was  incorporated  to  build  a  road  from  the  head 
of  State  Street  in  Newburyport  to  Chelsea  Bridge  "  as  nearly  in  a 
straight  line  as  practicable,"  and  "  in  a  course  south  twenty-four  degrees 
west,  as  nearly  as  possible."  This  seems  to  be  the  most  positive  straight- 
line  requirement  imposed  upon  any  company.  The  road  was  built  in 
very  close  compliance  with  the  rule,  for  only  for  a  short  section  through 
Lynnfield  and  Saugus  was  any  substantial  deviation  from  an  air  line 
made. 

Petitions  were  entered  for  locations  and  awards  of  damages  in  the 
towns  of  Essex  County  in  August,  1803,  and  the  reports  of  committees 

[123] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

were  generally  received  by  December  of  the  same  year.  A  similar 
petition  was  made  in  Middlesex  County  for  location  through  Melrose 
and  Maiden  in  November,  1803.  As  one  of  the  committee  appointed 
died  soon  after,  it  became  necessary  to  appoint  a  new  committee,  which 
was  done  in  September,  1804,  and  this  body  reported  finally  two  years 
later,  with  location  and  award  of  damages.  The  amount  awarded  for 
land  in  Middlesex  County  was  $2306.58,  part  of  which  was  taken  from 
what  is  now  Everett  Square  in  the  city  of  Everett. 

The  road  was  nearly  completed  in  one  year,  as  the  following  adver- 
tisement, found  in  the  Columbian  Centinel  of  January  2,  1805,  and  in 
the  Salem  Gazette  of  December  28,   1804,  shows: 

Newburyport  Turnpike  Corporation 
The  Directors  of  the  Newburyport  Turnpike  Corporation,  at  their  meeting  on 
the  24th  inst.     Voted,  that  the  following  statement  concerning  the  progress  of  the 
Turnpike-road  be  communicated  through  the  medium  of  an  advertisement,  viz. 

That  there  is  already  made  twenty-five  miles  of  the  Turnpike-road ;  that  bridges 
over  six  rivers  are  built ;  that,  in  some  instances,  hills  have  been  reduced  twenty-five 
feet ;  that  two  Houses  for  entertainment  are  erected,  one  of  which  is  now  open  for 
the  reception  of  travellers ;  and  that  it  is  their  opinion  that  the  whole  route  of 
twenty-six  miles  (from  Newburyport  to  Maiden  Road)  will  be  opened  early  in  the 
spring. 

Per  order  of  the  Directors 

B.  Marston  Watson 

Clerk  of  the  Corporation. 
December  25,  1804. 

And  in  the  same  advertisement  the  sixteenth  assessment  of  twenty  dol- 
lars on  each  share  of  stock  is  called. 

It  may  be  noticed  that  the  directors  in  their  communication  refer 
to  the  Maiden  Road  as  if  that  was  to  be  the  southerly  terminus  of  the 
turnpike,  while  the  original  charter  gave  them  the  right  to  build  to 
Chelsea  Bridge.  Evidently  the  terminus  at  Chelsea  Bridge  was  not 
attractive  to  the  projectors,  and  they  halted  the  work  at  the  junction 
with  the  Maiden  Road,  which  was  in  what  is  now  the  southerly  part 
of  Saugus,  opposite  Cliftondale,  until  they  could  secure  a  more  desirable 
franchise.  In  March,  1805,  this  was  granted  them  in  an  act  which 
allowed  them  to  build  from  Jenkins  Corner,  probably  the  junction  with 
the  Maiden  Road,  to  Maiden  Bridge  instead  of  Chelsea  Bridge.  The 
Middlesex  committee,  which  had  reported  on  the  first  layout  in  1805, 
had  to  go  at  it  again,  and  its  report  locating  to  the  Maiden  Bridge  was 
filed  in  September,  1806,  with  land  damages  as  already  stated. 

The  Massachusetts  Highway  Commission,  in  its  report  for  1907, 
said  of  the  location  of  this  road: 

In  its  building  no  change  of  direction  was  made,  either  to  avoid  hills  or  to  ac- 
commodate the  population  to  the  right  or  left  of  a  straight  line. 

The  road  from  Andover  Street  to  Newburyport  is  improperly  laid  out,  the 
grades  are  excessive,  the  population  along  it  is  sparse,  the  villages  on  either  side  are 
provided  with  other  roads  better  laid  out,  and  there  appears  to  be  no  reason  why  it 
should  become  a  State  road. 

[124] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 


Certain  citizens  of  Salem  foresaw  the  disadvantage  of  sacrificing 
everything  for  a  straight  line,  although  some  self-interest  may  be  sus- 
pected in  their  viewpoint,  for  which  read  the  following  news  item  which 
appeared  in  the  Salem  Gazette  of  February  II,  1803. 

TURNPIKE  —  Some  gentlemen  of  Newburyport  have  it  in  contemplation  to 
carry  a  road  strait  from  that  town  to  Boston,  which  will  of  course  run  to  the  north- 
ward of  the  seaports  in  this  county,  and  have  no  connexion  with  the  Salem  turnpike. 
But  it  is  expected  that  an  actual  measurement  will  discourage  it  by  showing  that  the 
saving  will  not  be  more  than  a  mile  more  than  if  brought  strait  to  this  town. 

The  route  which  this  turnpike  was  designed  to  improve  was  one  of 
the  earliest  stage  routes  of  the  country,  and  the  early  and  constant  travel 
over  it  surely  gave  promise  of  good  business  for  the  improved  road. 
In  1 76 1,  on  the  twentieth  of  April,  John  Stavers  started  what  has 
been  claimed  to  be  the  first  stage  in  America,  which  ran  from  Ports- 
mouth to  Boston.1  The  vehicle  was  a  two-horse  curricle  wide  enough 
for  three  passengers,  and  it  made  the  round  trip  once  a  week,  leaving 
Portsmouth  on  Monday  mornings,  stopping  over  night  at  Ipswich  and 
reaching  Charlestown  Ferry  the  following  day.  The  return  was  made 
on  Thursdays  and  Fridays,  and  the  fare  each  way  was  13s.  6d.  Evi- 
dently this  stage  was  not  continued  many  years,  for  between  1770  and 
1790  the  mail  was  carried  from  Boston  to  Portsmouth  once  a  week 
on  horseback. 

Jacob  Hale  and  Sons  established  permanent  facilities  from  Ports- 
mouth south  in  1794,  when  they  established  a  four-horse  stage  line 
which  continued  to  run  until  the  railroad  had  absorbed  all  its  patronage. 
By  leaving  Portsmouth  at  half-past  two  in  the  morning  this  line  suc- 
ceeded in  getting  through  to  Boston  the  same  day,  with  breakfast  at 
Newburyport  and  dinner  at  Ipswich.  According  to  an  advertisement 
in  the  Essex  Journal  and  Merrimack  Packet  in  May,  1774,  Ezra  Lunt 
ran  a  four-horse  stagecoach  on  weekly  trips  between  Boston  and  New- 
buryport, but  it  is  doubted  if  he  continued  very  long. 

Currier  in  his  "  History  of  Newburyport  "  tells  us  that  the  first 
meeting  of  the  Newburyport  Turnpike  Corporation  was  held  in  Boston 
April  14,  1803,  William  Tudor  being  elected  president  and  Enoch 
Sawyer  treasurer.  The  work  was  commenced  on  the  twenty-third  of 
August  of  the  same  year,  as  we  learn  from  the  Salem  Register  of  the 
twenty-ninth  of  that  month,  which  said: 

New  Turnpike 

Newburyport,  August  24. 

The  workmen  on  the  direct  Turnpike  from  this  town  to  Boston  commenced  the 
important  undertaking  yesterday.  It  is  to  run  from  the  head  of  State  Street,  New- 
buryport, in  as  straight  a  line  as  possible.  The  inhabitants  of  New  England  have 
long  gained  attention  for  their  enterprising  and  public  spirit,  and  the  present  under- 
taking may  be  well  said  to  justify  this  claim. 

1  Gage's  "  History  of  Rowley." 

[125] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

There  were  nine  hundred  and  ninety-five  shares  in  the  capital  stock 
according  to  Coffin's  "  History  of  Newbury,"  and  they  were  paid  in 
the  form  of  twenty-dollar  assessments,  so  that  they  cost  nearly  $420 
each,  or  a  total  of  $417,000. 

The  work  started  with  a  cut  ten  feet  deep  at  the  head  of  State  Street, 
the  material  excavated  being  used  for  filling  across  the  treacherous 
"  Pine  Swamp."  A  hotel  was  built  by  the  corporation  at.Topsfield  and 
another  at  Lynnfield,  which  indicated  expectations  of  heavy  travel  and 
intention  to  take  care  of  it  in  every  detail.  The  hotel  at  Topsfield 
provided  for  travelers  for  thirty  years,  after  which  in  1834  it  was 
moved  intact  to  Phillips  Beach  in  Swampscott.  This  may  have  been 
the  house  on  the  beach  long  known  as  the  "  Martin  House,"  which  was 
torn  down  years  ago.  A  witness  of  the  moving,  then  a  boy  of  ten  years, 
tells  an  interesting  story  of  the  operation  as  the  occupants  remained, 
the  women  calmly  continuing  their  home  work  on  shoes,  as  was  the 
custom  then.  The  big  chimneys  were  cut  off  at  the  floor  level  and  sup- 
ported on  special  beams  inserted  under  them.  The  Lynnfield  hotel  evi- 
dently expected  patronage  from  the  sporting  fraternity,  as  provision  was 
made  for  horse-racing  by  making  a  mile  of  the  adjacent  turnpike  of 
double  width,  we  learn  from  Tracy's  "  History  of  Essex  County." 

No  returns  are  found  from  this  company  among  the  Massachusetts 
archives,  so  we  must  be  content  with  Coffin's  statement  of  the  capital 
and  Currier's  record  that  a  small  dividend  was  paid  each  year.  In 
general  there  must  have  been  a  great  disappointment,  for  the  heavy 
grades  prevented  the  road  from  being  much  used  by  private  travelers, 
most  of  whom  preferred  the  old  route  through  Rowley,  Ipswich,  and 
Salem.  The  stage-coach"  companies,  however,  usually  shared  the  delu- 
sion of  the  preference  for  the  straightest  line,  and  we  commonly 
find  them  adhering  to  the  turnpikes.  It  was  so  in  this  case,  and  the 
Eastern  Stage  Company,  as  the  syndicate  formed  in  18 18,  which  an- 
ticipated the  Boston  and  Maine  Railroad,  was  called,  paid  annually  in 
commuted  tolls  from  $800  to  $1000. 

As  was  the  case  with  so  many  of  the  others,  this  turnpike  received 
its  mortal  thrust  from  railroad  competition.  In  1840  the  Eastern  Rail- 
road was  completed  to  Newburyport,  and  the  turnpike  in  that  town 
and  in  Newbury  lasted  but  seven  years  longer.  The  portion  in  Rowley, 
Ipswich,  Topsfield,  Danvers,  and  Peabody  became  free  in  April,  1849, 
and  in  Lynnfield  and  Saugus  in  the  same  month  of  1852,  in  which  year 
the  Middlesex  section  also  became  a  public  road,  and  the  entire  New- 
buryport Turnpike  was  free  from  toll. 

An  interesting  comparison  with  the  manner  in  which  such  work  is 
carried  on  to-day  may  be  found  in  reading  the  following  extract  from 
the  Salem  Gazette  of  August  13,  1804: 

Deaths.  —  Killed  instantly,  by  the  falling  in  of  the  earth,  while  at  work  on  the 
Turnpike,  in  Topsfield,  on  the  19th  of  July  last,  Jonathan  Hoyt,  aged  20;  an  active 
and  industrious  young  man  from  Concord  (N.  H.). 
[126] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

and  there  followed  one  of  those  eulogistic  tributes  in  which  old-time 
editors  used  to  revel.  Besides  the  disadvantage  under  which  turnpike 
projectors  labored  in  lack,  of  tools  and  mechanical  appliances  they  had 
to  look  to  the  "  active  and  industrious  young  men  "  of  our  New  Eng- 
land farms  for  the  supply  of  labor  which  later  came  in  such  quantities 
from  different  European  countries. 

The  Maine  Turnpike  Association,  chartered  on  the  same  day,  was 
a  "  flash  in  the  pan,"  the  franchise  being  repealed  two  years  later.  This 
company  proposed  to  build  from  the  New  Hampshire  line,  through 
Portland  to  Augusta,  and  as  usual,  "  upon  as  straight  a  line  as  circum- 
stances will  admit." 

The  brains  of  the  state  were  occupied  with  other  problems  for  the 
next  three  months,  and  not  until  June  22,  1803,  was  another  turnpike 
launched.  On  that  day  the  Becket,  Boston  and  Haverhill,  and  Essex 
Turnpike  corporations  were  created. 


THE    BECKET   TURNPIKE 

The  Becket  filled  in  a  gap  which  was  left  in  the  construction  of  the 
Eighth  Massachusetts.  When  that  road  was  built  it  had  the  authority 
to  locate  over  a  section  of  old  road  in  Becket  known  as  the  "  Govern- 
ment Road,"  but  either  on  account  of  local  opposition  or  other  reasons 
the  court  of  sessions  of  Berkshire  County  released  the  company  from 
that  part  of  its  franchise.  In  other  cases  the  legislature  only  seems  to 
have  exercised  such  power,  and  a  company  once  having  accepted  the 
franchise  to  build  over  a  certain  route  was  held  strictly  to  its  duty 
therein.  For  instance,  see  the  case  of  the  Cambridge  and  Concord, 
previously  recited,  in  which  the  company  sought  release  from  its  obli- 
gation to  build  an  extension  to  West  Boston  Bridge,  but  was  refused. 

The  reason  for  the  neglect  by  the  Eighth  to  improve  its  opportunity 
to  build  over  the  "  Government  Road  "  is  hard  to  conjecture,  unless  it 
was  on  account  of  construction  difficulties.  Apparently  the  "  Govern- 
ment Road  "  passed  on  the  north  of  Center  Pond  and  uncomfortably 
close  to  Becket  Mountain,  and  the  cost  of  such  a  route  looked  too  great. 
The  Eighth  did  build,  however,  over  a  portion  of  that  location  and  for 
a  short  distance  into  Becket,  and  the  Becket  corporation  undertook  to 
complete  its  line  westward  over  a  more  practicable  section  of  country. 

The  charter  of  the  Becket  contained  none  of  the  straight-line  require- 
ments, and  the  road  looks  on' the  map  as  if  it  had  been  laid  out  with 
some  conception  of  grade  resistances.  The  length  cannot  be  determined 
reliably,  but  apparently  it  was  about  seven  miles.  The  cost  was  re- 
ported as  $4228.88,  and  it  seems  safe  to  say  that  the  average  cost  was 
about  $600  a  mile.     The  road  connected  the  Eighth  Massachusetts, 

[127] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

from  a  point  in  the  southeasterly  part  of  Becket  near  Walker  Brook, 
with  the  Tenth  Massachusetts  near  the  village  of  West  Becket. 

Berkshire  County  records  show  that  this  road  was  located  by  a  com- 
mittee of  the  court  in  1804,  and  that  in  1832,  upon  petition  of  the 
company,  it  became  free. 

By  an  act  passed  in  18 19  permission  to  move  the  gate  was  given,  but 
a  restriction  was  laid  that  only  one  quarter  toll  could  be  collected  from 
inhabitants  of  Otis  and  Becket.  The  Chester  Turnpike,  incorporated 
in  1822,  seems  to  have  taken  over  a  section  of  the  Eighth  and  to  have 
improved  on  the  Becket  by  paralleling  it  for  a  distance  of  eighty  rods 
on  the  easterly  end.  By  act  of  June  18,  1825,  that  eighty  rods  of  the 
Becket  was  discontinued  and  the  parallel  section  of  the  Eighth  was 
annexed  to  the  road  of  the  Becket  corporation.  As  an  instance  showing 
how  remote  those  old  roads  were  from  our  modern  improvements,  it 
may  be  noticed  that  this  last-named  act  was  passed  on  the  same  day  that 
Governor  Levi  Lincoln  approved  the  act  which  established  the  Boston 
Fire  Department. 

The  Becket  corporation  followed  the  precedent  set  by  the  English 
bishops,  and,  unrestricted  by  any  requirements  regarding  number  of 
stockholders,  constituted  itself  a  corporation  sole.  The  report  giving 
the  cost  of  the  road  is  signed  by  Joseph  Goodwin,  "  only  proprietor 
of  said  road,"  and  Eliada  Kingsley,  "  sole  proprietor  of  the  Becket  turn- 
pike," in  1 8 19  was  allowed  by  the  legislature,  to  move  his  gate.  And 
in  1832  the  same  Eliada  Kingsley,  in  his  "sole"  capacity,  asked  that 
the  road  might  become  free. 

The  Boston  and  Haverhill  was  intended  to  run  south  three  degrees 
west  "  as  nearly  as  possible  "  from  Haverhill  Bridge  to  Maiden  Bridge, 
but  no  evidence  has  been  found  that  anything  was  ever  done  beyond 
securing  the  charter. 

THE    ESSEX   TURNPIKE 

The  Essex  Turnpike  was  projected  from  the  New  Hampshire  line 
across  the  Merrimac  at  Andover  Bridge,  now  the  city  of  Lawrence, 
and  thence  to  Captain  Felton's  store  in  Danvers,  on  the  way  to  Salem, 
the  county  seat.  It  was  also  to  run  south  thirteen  degrees  east  from 
Andover  Bridge  to  the  line  of  Middlesex  County  in  Reading.  The 
Andover  and  Medford,  which  was  chartered  two  years  later,  did  not 
avail  itself  of  its  permission  to  build  to  some  point  in  Andover,  but 
stopped  at  the  Essex  County  line  where  it  joined  the  road  of  the  Essex 
corporation.  The  two  corporations  we're  allowed,  by  act  passed  in 
1807,  to  maintain  one  tollgate  jointly  at  the  county  line,  the  rates  of 
toll  and  the  division  between  the  companies  to  be  established  by  the 
commissioners  who  were  to  view  the  roads. 

From  the  New  Hampshire  line  to  that  of  Middlesex  County  was 

[128] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

located  by  the  committee  early  in  1806,  the  branch  line  to  Salem  being 
laid  out  two  years  later.  Construction  was  slow,  the  act  of  1807  giving 
powers  to  the  commissioners  whose  verdict  allowed  the  road  to  com- 
mence business,  and  another  act,  passed  in  1809,  extending  the  time 
within  which  construction  must  be  completed.  But  the  roads  were 
finally  completed  at  a  cost  of  $67,905.25,  or  about  $2425  a  mile,  and 
opened  for  travel.  Lawrence's  Broadway  and  the  continuation  of  it  to 
the  New  Hampshire  boundary  is  the  perpetuation  of  the  Essex  Turn- 
pike, as  is  Main  Street,  through  Andover  Center  to  the  Reading  line. 
The  Salem  branch  of  the  turnpike  may  be  followed  from  Lawrence 
over  Winthrop  Avenue,  across  the  town  of  North  Andover,  over  North 
Main  Street  to  Middleton  and  South  Main  Street  to  the  Danvers  line ; 
thence  over  Andover  Street  until  one  reaches  Peabody  Center,  which 
was  probably  the  location  of  Captain  Felton's  store,  that  part  of  Dan- 
vers having  been  set  off  as  South  Danvers  in  1855,  and  the  name 
changed  to  Peabody  in  1868. 

The  original  charter  required  that  the  traveled  part  of  the  roadway 
should  be  thirty-two  feet  wide,  but  that  was  modified  to  twenty-four 
feet  in  1806. 

This  turnpike  formed  a  link  in  a  much-traveled  route  between  Boston 
and  points  in  New  Hampshire  and  Vermont.  By  its  connection  at  the 
state  line  with  the  Londonderry  Turnpike  direct  communication  was 
had  with  Concord,  and  over  the  Litchfield  and  Second  New  Hampshire 
turnpikes  with  Claremont  and  the  Vermont  territory  beyond.  South- 
erly, Boston  was  reached  over  the  connecting  Andover  and  Medford 
Turnpike,  which  extended  to  the  market  place  in  Medford,  whence  the 
journey  was  continued  over  the  Medford  Turnpike,  which  landed  the 
traveler  at  Sullivan  Square  in  Charlestown,  after  which  reliable  public 
roads  could  be  found.  Of  the  Second  New  Hampshire,  Cochrane 
writes  in  his  "History  of  Antrim"  that,  opened  in  1800,  for  twenty- 
five  years  it  carried  an  enormous  traffic  in  farm  products  and  timber  to 
Boston,  with  return  loadings  of  store  goods  and  rum.  This  historian, 
too,  has  his  criticism  of  the  custom  of  tackling  the  hills  head  on,  and 
he  speaks  of  the  severe  competition  by  free  roads  in  more  favorable 
locations. 

The  Salem  road  became  a  free  highway  in  December,  1829,  while 
the  portion  from  the  New  Hampshire  line  to  the  connection  with  the 
Andover  and  Medford  collected  its  tolls  until  December,  1835.  No 
returns  of  business  done  were  ever  filed  by  the  Essex  corporation,  which 
is  to  be  regretted,  as  figures  relating  to  the  commerce  with  southern 
Vermont  and  New  Hampshire  at  that  time  would  be  interesting. 

A  portion  of  the  Salem  branch  of  this  turnpike  has  been  utilized  in 
late  years  by  the  Massachusetts  Highway  Commission,  which  has  con- 
structed a  considerable  length  of  concrete  roadbed,  divided  into  several 
experimental  sections  of  different  compositions.  Each  of  these  sections 
is  designated  by  a  board  set  by  the  side  of  the  road,  on  which  can  be 

[129] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

read  the  proportions  of  the  concrete  mixture  in  the  adjacent  section  with 
a  statement  of  its  reinforcements. 

The  Andover  Bridge  in  Lawrence  to  which  this  turnpike  was  di- 
rected, and  which  furnished  the  means  of  crossing  the  Merrimac  River, 
dates  back  several  years  ahead  of  the  turnpike,  the  charter  having 
been  granted  March  19,  1793,  for  a  term  of  seventy  years.  This 
term  was  made  perpetual  in  1799,  but  the  bridge  was  ultimately  made 
free  in  July,  1868,  in  accordance  with  chapter  309  of  the  acts  of  that 
year. 

At  Methuen  Center  the  turnpike  rose  abruptly  over  a  steep,  although 
not  very  high,  hill  which  is  now  more  in  use  by  automobiles  than  it  has 
been  for  many  years  past  by  horse-drawn  vehicles.  The  public  authori- 
ties laid  out  another  road,  forming  a  letter  "  S  "  on  the  turnpike,  which 
avoids  the  hills  and  has  no  steep  grades. 

The  two  roads  are  known  locally  as  the  one  "  over  the  hill  "  and  the 
one  "  around  the  hill." 


THE   WISCASSET   AND   WOOLWICH   TURNPIKE 

The  needs  of  the  District  of  Maine  were  given  attention  on  the 
twenty-third  of  June,  1803,  when  the  Wiscasset  and  Woolwich  Turn- 
pike Corporation  was  chartered  to  build  from  Wiscasset  to  Day's  Ferry, 
which  crossed  the  Kennebec  to  Bath.  This  ferry  had  probably  been 
operated  for  several  years  prior  to  1762  by  Samuel  Harnden,  but  in 
that  year  he  received  a  license  "  to  keep  and  run  a  ferry,"  which  was 
renewed  to  his  son  Brigadier  in  1769.  Since  1788  the  ferry  had  been 
called  Day's  Ferry,  according  to  Reed's  "  History  of  Bath." 

The  road  was  laid  out  and  its  location  reported  at  the  May  term 
of  the  court  of  sessions,  1805.  Reverend  Henry  O.  Thayer,  who  pre- 
sided in  Woolwich  for  twenty-five  years,  writes :  "  The  old  Wiscasset 
road,  earlier  than  the  turnpike,  went  from  the  ferry  to  Nequasset  Mills, 
or  Church,  and  then  east  by  present  lower  and  main  road  to  Wiscasset, 
and  that  rOad  was  formerly  called  '  The  King's  Highway.'  '  The  new 
town  laid  a  road  over  the  same  course  in  1760-61,  discontinuing  a  por- 
tion of  the  old  road.  In  the  discontinued  part  is  a  sharp  turn  where 
General  Henry  Knox  had  an  overturn  of  his  carriage,  from  which  the 
spot  was  formerly  known  as  "  Knox's  Corner." 

This  turnpike,  in  connection  with  the  one  from  Brunswick  to  Bath 
formed  later,  and  the  Wiscasset  and  Augusta  already  noted,  formed 
a  continuous  route  of  about  forty-five  miles,  and  put  Augusta  in  closer 
communication  with  Portland  and  points  beyond. 

In  1837  a  steam  ferry-boat  was  installed  at  Day's  Ferry,  but  the  day 
of  the  railroad  had  not  then  arrived,  and  for  many  years  the  stages 
crossed  and  recrossed,  assisted  by  the  same  force  that  was  soon  to 
accomplish  their  downfall. 
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THE   TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 


THE   NORTH    BRANCH    TURNPIKE 

The  North  Branch  Turnpike  Corporation,  under  authority  granted 
it  on  the  twenty-third  of  June,  1803,  built  seventeen  and  a  quarter  miles 
of  road  at  a  cost  of  $25,740.46,  or  about  $1500  a  mile,  according  to 
official  records.  This  road  was  located  by  a  committee  of  the  Worces- 
ter court  of  sessions  in  1805  through  Fitchburg,  Westminster,  Ash- 
burnham,  and  Winchendon,  and  extended,  according  to  a  contributor  to 
the  Fitchburg  Historical  Society,  from  the  New  Hampshire  line  between 
Fitzwilliam  and  Winchendon,  through  Ashburnham,  through  Scrabble 
Hollow  in  Westminster,  to  the  Fifth  Massachusetts  Turnpike  near 
Osborne's  Mills  in  West  Fitchburg.  The  present-day  maps  show  a  road 
from  West  Fitchburg  to  Ashburnham  in  as  straight  a  line  as  the  rugged 
topography  of  that  region  will  allow,  which  from  Ashburnham  runs 
directly  along  the  route  of  the  Cheshire  Branch  of  the  Fitchburg  Divi- 
sion of  the  Boston  and  Maine  Railroad  to  Winchendon,  and  then 
straight  as  a  string  to  the  Fitzwilliam  line.  Indications  are  strong  that 
this  is  the  old  turnpike,  but  positive  evidence  has  not  yet  been  uncovered. 
Once  before  we  noted  the  yearning  which  Ashburnham  had  for  turn- 
pikes, so  we  are  not  surprised  to  learn  that  that  town  contributed  five 
hundred  dollars  toward  the  building  of  the  road. 

The  North  Branch  Turnpike  served  travelers  between  Bellows  Falls 
and  Keene,  and  Boston.  Across  the  state  line  the  Ashuelot  Turnpike 
continued  the  route  toward  Bellows  Falls,  while  the  Branch  Road  and 
Bridge  Corporation's  turnpike  gave  access  to  Keene. 

The  North  Branch  was  opened  for  free  use  in  1829. 

The  year  1804  saw  the  birth  of  eleven  corporations,  the  first  being 
the  Warwick  and  Irwin's  Gore.  This  was  designed  as  a  feeder  for 
the  Fifth  Massachusetts  from  southwestern  New  Hampshire,  but  ap- 
parently it  never  got  beyond  the  formative  period. 


THE    NEW   BEDFORD   AND    BRIDGEWATER   TURNPIKE 

The  New  Bedford  and  Bridgewater  Turnpike  Corporation,  created 
February  29,  deserved  success  from  the  devout  nature  of  its  route, 
which  required  it  to  pass  as  near  as  practicable  to  six  churches.  It  never 
was  intended  to  reach  as  far  as  New  Bedford,  and  its  southerly  terminus 
was  defined  as  the  post  office  near  the  Great  Ponds  in  Middleboro. 
Thence  it  extended  in  a  remarkably  straight  line,  even  for  a  turnpike, 
through  the  villages  of  Titicut,  Bridgewater,  East  Bridgewater,  Whit- 
man, Abington,  North  Abington,  and  South  Weymouth,  to  a  junction 
with  the  Braintree  and  Weymouth  Turnpike  in  Weymouth,  at  the 
corner  now  designated  as  Main  and  Washington  streets.     The  length 

[131] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF   NEW    ENGLAND 


was  about  twenty-five  and  one  half  miles  and  the  cost  of  construction 
was  reported  as  $49,662.50,  or  about  $1950  a  mile.  Although  this 
road  suffered  from  the  adherence  to  the  straight-line  theory,  its  chief 
fault  appears  to  have  been  in  not  having  improved  connections  with 
New  Bedford,  but  in  turning  its  travelers  off  at  a  distance  of  thirteen 
miles  from  that  center  to  follow  their  way  over  tortuous  country  roads. 
It  also  seems  that  it  would  have  been  better  if  the  road  had  turned  from 
Bridgewater  to  Middleboro  and  run  thence  to  New  Bedford.  That 
route  has  always  been  the  favorite,  and  is  to-day  the  principal  one 
between  Bridgewater  and  New  Bedford.  Excessive  grades  were  not 
caused  by  the  straight  line,  and  the  centers  along  the  way  were  prop- 
erly served,  except  in  the  case  of  Middleboro. 

So  it  seems  in  this  case  that  the  road  failed  because  there  was  not 
enough  business  in  its  territory.  No  returns  of  business  done  were  ever 
filed. 

No  record  of  the  location  was  found  in  Norfolk.  County,  but  in 
Plymouth  a  petition  for  a  committee  was  made  in  April,  1805.  In 
August,  1806,  the  committee  reported  the  location  of  the  road  four 
rods  wide  with  no  description  of  the  route,  but  with  a  measurement 
and  valuation  of  each  lot  of  land  taken.  Weston's  "  History  of  Middle- 
boro "  says  that  the  road  was  three  years  in  building  and  was  never 
a  pecuniary  success.  Over  it  passed  one  stage  each  way  per  day  between 
Boston  and  New  Bedford,  and  seven  freight  wagons  each  week.  One 
tollgate  stood  at  the  southerly  end,  where  the  Lakeville  town  house 
now  stands,  another  was  in  the  "  Haskins  Neighborhood,"  while  a 
third  was  near  Solomon  Eaton's  tavern,  a  well-known  house  at  that 
time. 

Another  excellent  tavern  was  kept  by  Mrs.  Goodwin  in  Titicut  Vil- 
lage near  the  Baptist  Church.  The  old  church  which  had  heard  the  rum- 
bling of  many  stages  past  its  door  gave  way  about  twenty  years  ago  to  a 
modern  edifice,  and  the  old-fashioned  shut-in  pews  were  replaced  by 
modern  oak  benches.  And  the  services  on  Sundays  now  are  disturbed 
by  the  roar  of  trolley  cars. 

The  appropriate  name  of  "  Turnpike  "  is  given  to  the  little  station 
on  the  Taunton  to  Middleboro  line  of  the  New  York,  New  Haven, 
and  Hartford  Railroad  where  the  track  crosses  the  old  turnpike.  To-day 
the  road  is  known  as  Main  Street  in  Weymouth,  and  as  Bedford  Street 
throughout  the  rest  of  its  length. 

Norfolk  County  records  show  a  public  layout  of  the  portion  in  Wey- 
mouth in  the  year  1830,  and  the  Plymouth  County  records  that  the 
part  between  Bridgewater  and  the  Weymouth  line  was  freed  in  Decem- 
ber, 1829,  upon  petition  of  the  corporation.  The  section  from  the  Great 
Ponds,  or  Lakeville  Town  House,  to  Titicut  was  thrown  open  in  Jan- 
uary, 1845;  the  next  two  and  a  third  miles  northerly  became  public  in 
August,  1847,  the  balance  of  the  road  from  that  section  to  Bridgewater 
having  been  laid  out  in  January,  1844. 

[132] 


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THE   TURNPIKES    OF   MASSACHUSETTS 


THE    PETERSHAM   AND    MONSON   TURNPIKE 

The  Petersham  and  Monson  Turnpike  Corporation  was  created  also 
on  February  29,  1804,  and  authorized  to  build  a  road  from  the  Fifth 
Massachusetts  Turnpike  in  Athol  to  a  connection  with  a  Connecticut 
turnpike  in  the  town  of  Stafford.  Twice  were  acts  secured  extending 
the  time  within  which  construction  might  be  completed,  the  last  running 
to  June,  1809.  No  records  of  the  location  of  this  road  were  found  in 
a  search  of  the  records  in  three  counties,  but  that  it  was  built  is  well 
established.  It  extended  from  the  village  of  Athol  at  a  point  on  the 
Fifth  Massachusetts  almost  due  south  into  Petersham,  crossing  the  west 
end  of  that  town  and  the  northwest  corner  of  Dana,  then  southerly  close 
to  the  west  line  of  Dana,  and  entering  Greenwich  near  Greenwich  Vil- 
lage, at  which  point  it  crossed  the  Sixth  Massachusetts.  From  Green- 
wich Village,  or  North  Parish,  it  ran  to  Greenwich  South  Parish,  where 
it  joined  the  Belchertown  and  Greenwich  Turnpike;  thence  across  En- 
field and  through  the  westerly  part  of  Ware,  following  Beaver  Brook 
valley  and  passing  on  the  west  side  of  Beaver  Lake,  through  Palmer 
Center  and  Tennyville,  after  which  the  road  followed  the  route  after- 
wards chosen  by  the  New  London  Northern  Railroad  through  the  town 
of  Monson  to  the  Connecticut  line. 

We  learn  from  Temple's  "  History  of  Palmer  "  that  the  turnpike 
was  promoted  by  men  in  Norwich,  Connecticut,  who  thought  to  rival 
Hartford  by  paralleling  the  water  route  by  the  Connecticut  River.  The 
road  was  almost  exclusively  a  freight  road,  very  few  stages  using  it,  and 
it  carried  a  heavy  traffic  for  many  years,  but  not  enough  to  make  it  a 
profitable  investment. 

The  town  of  Ware  voted  in  1806  to  expend  two  hundred  dollars  on 
road  construction  along  the  line  of  the  turnpike,  the  resulting  road  to 
be  given  to  the  corporation  if  it  completed  the  whole  project,  as  Chase 
recites  in  his  "  History  of  Ware." 

The  length  of  road  was  about  forty-one  miles  and  the  cost  of  build- 
ing $14,317.17,  or  about  $350  a  mile.  Temple  is  authority  for  the  date 
of  the  road  becoming  free,  which  he  states  as  18 19,  which  gives  the 
turnpike  a  life  of  only  ten  years.  This  turnpike  did  not  die  from  rail- 
road competition,  as  the  New  London,  Willimantic,  and  Palmer  Rail- 
road, the  predecessor  of  the  New  London  Northern,  was  not  built  until 
thirty  years  later. 

THE    UNION    TURNPIKE 

March  2,  1804,  the  Union  Turnpike  Corporation  was  formed  and 
authorized  to  build : 

from  where  the  Cambridge  and  Concord  Turnpike  Road  terminates  in  Concord,  in 
the  most  convenient  and  direct  route,  to  the  place  where  the  Fifth  Massachusetts 
Turnpike  Road  terminates,  in  Leominster. 

[133] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

This  turnpike  was  intended  to  form  a  link  in  a  system  of  such  roads, 
which  was  a  predecessor  of  the  Fitchburg  Railroad.  Thus,  it  is  readily 
seen,  the  Hoosac  Tunnel  line  was  anticipated  by  the  route  over  the 
Cambridge  and  Concord,  Union,  Fifth  Massachusetts,  Fourteenth 
Massachusetts,  Second  Massachusetts,  and  Williamstown  turnpikes. 

Petitions  for  location  were  duly  entered  with  the  Worcester  and 
Middlesex  courts  in  1805,  and  the  layout  was  made  in  Worcester  in  that 
year.  But  not  until  September,  1806,  was  the  layout  reported  from  the 
county  line  to  Main  Street  in  Concord.  It  does  not  appear  that  the 
Cambridge  and  Concord  or  the  Union  ever  built  as  far  as  Concord 
Common,  although  allowed  to  do  so  by  their  charters.  At  the  Septem- 
ber, 1808,  term  of  the  Middlesex  court  the  company  reported  that  its 
road  was  completed  and  asked  for  a  committee  to  view  and  accept  it. 
That  the  road  was  accepted  is  evident  from  the  fact  that  the  company 
filed  returns  of  business  done  in  1809. 

The  turnpike  started  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Elm  streets  in 
Concord  and  followed  the  lines  of  the  present  Elm  Street  along  the 
northerly  wall  of  the  reformatory,  and  then  directly  to  West  Acton, 
straight  across  Boxboro  to  the  westerly  side  of  that  town,  where  it 
curved  slightly  to  the  northwest.  It  ran  northwesterly  across  Har- 
vard, where  the  road  long  since  disappeared,  and,  crossing  the  north- 
erly part  of  Lancaster,  to  Leominster  Village,  where  it  connected  with 
the  Fifth  Massachusetts.  The  length  was  about  twenty-two  miles,  and 
the  cost  was  $35,483.71,  or  about  $1600  a  mile.  Returns  filed  of  busi- 
ness done  from  1809  to  18 14,  inclusive,  showed  an  excess  of  expendi- 
tures over  receipts  of  $9660.35,  which  causes  wonder  that  operations 
were  continued  for  sixteen  years  more. 

By  an  act  of  the  legislature  passed  in  1809  the  corporation  was 
allowed  to  incorporate  "  the  present  travelled  county  road  "  in  Leomin- 
ster into  its  turnpike,  and  in  1 8 1  o  the  time  limit  was  extended  to  March  2, 
1 81 2.  By  this  it  is  seen  that  the  portion  in  Worcester  County  was  not 
built  as  early  as  that  in  Middlesex. 

Promptly  upon  the  opening  of  the  turnpike  the  following  petition 
was  entered  with  the  Middlesex  court,  which  is  here  introduced  as 
showing  the  manners  of' a  century  ago. 

Petition  of  Ephraim  Wood  and  others,  "  shewing  that  whereas  a  Turnpike-road 
known  by  the  name  of  the  Union  Turnpike  is  laid  out  and  made  and  now  travelled 
upon  through  the  westerly  part  of  Concord  in  said  County  on  and  near  the  county 
road  where  it  was  heretofore  travelled  and  has  rendered  a  part  of  said  County  road 
useless  and  unoccupied  as  to  any  public  travel  to  wit  from  the  dwelling  house  of 
Ephraim  Wood,  Esq.  on  westerly  to  where  said  Turnpike-road  comes  into  said 
County  road  near  where  the  late  General  James  Colburn  deceased  lived,  it  being 
one  hundred  rods  and  praying  that  the  section  of  the  County  road  above  described 
and  thus  rendered  useless  may  be  discontinued." 

In  March,  18 10,  the  road  was  discontinued  as  requested,  and  the 
records  show  that  the  committee  to  whom  the  matter  was  referred 

[134] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

recommended  such  discontinuance  upon  the  understanding  that  no  gate 
should  be  erected  to  take  toll  from  those  who  might  have  used  the  dis- 
continued part.  There  is  no  evidence  that  the  corporation  had  a  dif- 
ferent understanding  of  the  matter  later. 

The  proprietors  were  released  in  1819  from  their  liability  to  main- 
tain the  easterly  end  of  their  road,  apparently  that  portion  between  the 
reformatory  and  Concord. 

The  legislators  of  1804  seem  to  have  had  a  fear  of  monopolies,  for 
they  inserted  a  provision  in  the  charter  of  this  company  that  no  one 
stockholder  should  cast  more  than  ten  votes  regardless  of  how  many 
shares  he  owned.     In  1826  this  provision  was  repealed. 

The  original  location  of  the  turnpike  passed  through  the  village  of 
Harvard  and  then  bore  due  west  for  about  a  mile  and  a  half,  bringing 
it  a  short  distance  south  of  the  summit  of  Prospect  Hill.  Then  it  de- 
flected slightly  to  the  north  and,  descending  abruptly,  went  straight 
across  the  valley  of  the  Nashua  River,  climbing  the  steep  banks  on  the 
westerly  side  through  deep  cuts,  and  then  on  in  the  same  direction 
through  the  town  of  Lancaster.  Tollgates  were  usually  erected  on  or 
near  the  bridges,  for  the  reason  that  opportunities  for  going  around 
them  did  not  so  conveniently  exist,  and  it  is  probable  that  the  Union 
had  its  gate  in  the  vicinity  of  the  bridge  over  the  Nashua  River. 

Willard's  "History  of  Lancaster,"  published  in  1826,  says  that  a 
serious  freshet  on  the  Nashua  in  1818  damaged  all  the  bridges  over  that 
stream  and  carried  away  most  of  them.  The  turnpike  bridge  went 
downstream  with  the  others,  and  the  corporation,  with  expenses  exceed- 
ing its  receipts,  as  we  have  already  seen,  found  itself  unable  to  meet  the 
expense  of  a  new  one.  A  county  bridge  less  than  a  mile  up-stream 
from  the  turnpike  was  soon  rebuilt,  and  toward  it  the  corporation  cast 
covetous  eyes. 

January  31,  1820,  an  act  was  passed  by  which  the  corporation  was 

authorized  to  alter  their  road  by  leaving  its  original  route,  near  Benjamin  Willard's 
in  Lancaster,  thence  running  in  the  most  direct  and  suitable  course  to  where  the 
county  road  leading  to  Harvard,  crosses  the  Nashua  River,  thence  in  or  near  the 
course  of  said  county  road  so  as  to  reunite  with  said  turnpike  near  Jonas  Bateman's 
in  Harvard. 

The  section  of  the  original  turnpike  which  was  thus  cut  out  measured 
about  two  and  a  half  miles,  and  extended  from  the  corner  of  the  roads 
a  mile  west  of  Harvard  Village  to  the  corner  of  the  roads  at  the  old 
Lancaster  almshouse.  Of  this  section  only  about  a  half  mile  exists 
to-day  as  a  public  road.  Now  one  following  the  course  of  the  old  turn- 
pike comes  to  an  abrupt  stop  on  the  brink  of  Prospect  Hill,  where  a 
magnificent  view  is  had  of  the  broad  valley  of  the  Nashua,  and  where 
the  Lancaster  Road  meets  the  turnpike  at  right  angles.  Thus  it  was 
with  a  party  of  investigators  in  the  early  fall  of  191 6,  when  the  author, 
with  two  sympathetic  companions,  sought  to  trace  the  road  abandoned 
ninety-six  years  before. 

[i35] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


At  first  no  sign  was  seen  of  a  continuation  straight  ahead  ever  hav- 
ing existed,  but  gradually  the  eye  picked  out  a  growth  of  trees  running 
across  the  valley,  which  was  strongly  suggestive  of  the  parallel  rows 
of  elms  which  we  had  seen  on  either  side  of  the  road  for  so  many  miles. 
Passing  through  the  farm  gate  opposite  the  end  of  the  road  which  we 
had  been  following,  we  noticed  a  rough  cart  path  inclosed  by  stone 
walls  leading  straight  ahead  down  the  hill.  Following  this  we  found 
unmistakable  indications  of  an  old  road,  the  stone  walls  on  either  side 
and  the  comparatively  even  grade  on  which  we  walked  mutely  testifying 
to  that  effect.  At  the  railroad  we  found  where  the  old  road  had  passed 
on  a  high  ridge,  through  which  the  railroad  builders  had  ruthlessly  dug 
a  deep  cut  for  their  track.  At  the  easterly  end  of  this  ridge  was  ob- 
served an  old  cellar  close  to  the  turnpike  remnants,  and  it  required  little 
imagination  to  picture  that  as  once  having  been  covered  by  the  tollhouse, 
with  the  gate  close  by.  Beyond  the  railroad  the  ground  was  low  and 
swampy,  and  as  far  as  we  penetrated  we  saw  the  remains  of  the  banks 
and  causeways  over  which  the  old  stages  had  passed. 

Passing  around  through  the  village  of  Still  River  and  crossing  the 
Nashua  where  the  turnpike  crossed  after  the  act  of  1820,  we  renewed 
our  search  on  the  westerly  bank  of  the  river,  in  the  town  of  Lancaster, 
and  on  the  crest  of  the  bank  which  rises  from  the  river  bottom  we  soon 
found  a  cut  so  deep  that  it  plainly  was  never  made  by  a  landowner  for 
his  private  use.  Following  this  clue  we  found  a  continuous  grade  which 
brought  us  to  the  bank  of  the  Nashua,  where,  although  all  signs  of  a 
bridge  have  long  since  disappeared,  the  graded  banks  of  the  roadway 
leading  to  it  on  both  sides  could  be  distinctly  traced. 

Having  climbed  the  grades  up  the  bank  of  the  Nashua  we  easily 
followed  the  embankment  of  the  old  road  across  the  slightly  rising 
ground  until  at  the  summit  a  wall-like  ledge  of  rock  crossed  the  line  at 
an  abrupt  height  of  five  or  six  feet.  Through  this  ledge  the  early  public- 
utility  constructors  had  blasted  a  cut  for  their  road  with  perpendicular 
walls,  in  which  the  old  drill  marks  are  still  plainly  visible. 

Farther  west,  at  the  corner  where  stands  the  large  farmhouse  for- 
merly used  to  shelter  the  poor  of  Lancaster,  the  path  of  the  turn- 
pike is  so  smooth  and  plain  that,  with  the  trees  removed  from  its 
limits,  one  could  safely  drive  over  it.  At  the  old  poor  farm  the  spirit 
of  the  turnpike  again  asserted  itself,  and  from  there  to  Leominster  it 
is  still  in  existence  as  a  public  road,  except  where  modern  engineering 
has  made  deviations. 

The  old  residents  know  this  abandoned  section  as  the  old  turnpike, 
and  several  of  whom  we  inquired,  verified  our  conclusions  regarding  the 
origin  of  the  traces  through  the  woods  and  swamps. 

The  road  became  free  in  Worcester  County  in  1829,  but  in  Middle- 
sex that  formality  was  delayed  until  1 830,  as  the  corporation  neglected 
for  two  terms  of  the  commissioners'  meetings  to  obey  the  orders  rela- 
tive to  advertising  a  hearing. 
[136] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 


THE  TAUNTON  AND  NEW  BEDFORD  TURNPIKE 

The  Taunton  and  New  Bedford  Turnpike  Corporation,  created  by 
act  of  March  3,  1804,  planned  to  build  from  Taunton  Green  to  the 
head  of  Acushnet  River,  on  the  way  to  New  Bedford.  The  road  was 
to  pass  through  the  towns  of  Berkley  and  Freetown  and  the  village  of 
Assonet.  No  records  have  been  found,  and  personal  knowledge  of  the 
country  allows  the  assertion  that  there  are  no  roads  there  which  can 
be  imagined  as  ever  having  been  turnpikes  except  a  short  piece  in  Taun- 
ton. A  straight  street  stretches  from  the  Green  to  Weir  Village,  which 
is  known  as  Weir  Street,  locally  pronounced  "  Ware."  A  map  was 
found  in  the  Bristol  County  Registry  of  Deeds,  dated  in  1846,  on 
which  Weir  Street  was  marked  "  Turnpike  from  Greene  to  Weir."  The 
length  of  that  street  is  a  little  less  than  a  mile,  so  it  was  not  much  of  a 
turnpike,  if  it  was  ever  so  operated.  In  1 808  the  time  limit  was  extended 
to  1 812. 

THE    BLUE    HILL   TURNPIKE 

On  the  seventh  of  March,  1804,  the  Blue  Hill  Turnpike  Corporation 
received  its  charter  to  build 

from  Randolph  meeting-house,  in  the  county  of  Norfolk,  through  Scotch  Woods,  or 
the  Blue  Hills,  so  called,  in  the  most  direct  and  convenient  route,  to  Joseph  Bab- 
cock's,  in  Milton. 

But  the  location  described  did  not  satisfy  the  proprietors,  so  they 
secured  the  passage  of  another  act,  in  June,  1805,  allowing  them, 

instead  of  laying  out  and  making  the  same  from  an  apple  tree  in  the  land  of  Ezra 
Coates  in  said  Milton,  to  the  house  of  Joseph  Babcock,  to  lay  out  and  make  the  said 
turnpike-road  from  said  apple  tree,  to,  or  near  to,  the  guide  post  in  Milton  at  Swift's 
Corner,  so  called,  near  to  the  house  of  John  Swift  in  Milton. 

The  apple  tree  in  question  has  not  been  identified  but  the  location 
of  the  road  is  well  established.  The  legislature,  in  1830,  required  all 
towns  to  file  with  the  secretary  of  state  a  map  of  their  territory,  and  the 
one  filed  by  Milton  shows  the  Blue  Hill  Turnpike  plainly.  It  extended 
nearly  due  south  from  Milton  Lower  Mills  until  it  reached  the  Quincy 
line;  crossing  the  west  end  of  that  town  it  curved  slightly,  and  then  bore 
about  south-southeast  to  Randolph  Center.  It  is  known  to-day  as  Ran- 
dolph Avenue  in  Milton,  and  as  North  Main  Street  in  Randolph.  The 
layout  was  partly  made  in  1804,  and  the  balance  in  1801;. 

Two  returns  were  made  of  the  cost  of  construction,  for  what  reason 
is  not  apparent,  the  total  being  $78,302.68.  The  length  being  about 
eight  miles  gives  a  per-mile  cost  of  about  $9800.  This  is  a  pretty  high 
figure,  and  the  work  must  have  been  heavy.  On  this  question  we  quote 
from  Teele's  "History  of  Milton,"  which  says: 

[137] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

Like  most  of  the  turnpike  enterprises  of  that  period  the  road  had  limited  uses 
for  travelling.  Its  location  was  principally  through  wild  land  or  woodlands,  with 
a  succession  of  heavy  grades,  long  steep  hills  and  narrow  viaducts,  requiring  frequent 
and  expensive  repairs. 

Returns  of  business  done  were  filed  from  1 8 1 6  to  1849  inclusive,  and 
show  net  income  averaging  between  one  and  two  per  cent,  with  a  maxi- 
mum of  about  two  and  a  half  per  cent  in  1834. 

In  1815  the  company  was  allowed  to  hold  real  estate  not  exceeding 
ten  thousand  dollars  in  value,  and  a  penalty  was  laid  upon  any  persons 
who  turned  off  the  road  at  gates  to  avoid  payment  of  tolls.  By  the 
last  it  is  evident  that  the  Blue  Hill  had  to  compete  with  a  "  shunpike." 
Evidently  at  first  there  had  been  but  one  gate  erected  near  the  halfway 
point,  and  much  of  the  travel  used  only  one  end  of  the  road  without 
passing  the  gate  at  all,  for  we  find  an  act  in  1807,  allowing  the  corpora- 
tion to  erect  two  half-gates  instead  of  the  one  whole  one,  provided 
neither  was  put  up  where  an  old  road  had  been  taken. 

The  Norfolk  county  commissioners  laid  the  turnpike  out  as  a  public 
highway  in  1848.  By  its  connection,  or  close  to  a  connection,  with  the 
Dorchester  Turnpike  at  Milton  Lower  Mills,  this  road  gave  through 
communication  between  Boston  and  Randolph,  the  travel  of  which  was 
absorbed  by  the  railroad  which  passes  through  Brockton. 

No  records  have  been  found  of  any  work  done  by  the  Springfield 
and  Longmeadow  Turnpike  Corporation,  which  was  chartered  the  same 
day  as  the  Blue  Hill. 


THE  HARTFORD  AND  DEDHAM  TURNPIKE 

The  next  was  planned  for  through  travel  rather  than  local,  as  the 
Hartford  and  Dedham  Turnpike  Corporation,  chartered  March  9, 
1804,  was  designed  to  close  the  gap  left  by  a  Connecticut  corporation, 
the  Ninth  Massachusetts,  and  the  Norfolk  and  Bristol,  in  a  through  line 
between  Hartford  and  Boston.  The  road  was  located  over  the  present 
High  Street  from  Dedham  Center  to  Westwood  Center,  thence  through 
Westwood  and  Dover  over  Hartford  Street,  through  Medfield  by 
Cedar  Hill  and  Main  streets,  over  the  Main  Street  of  Millis  and  Med- 
way  to  the  northeast  corner  of  Bellingham,  where  it  joined  the  road  of 
the  Ninth  Massachusetts.  The  centers  of  Dedham,  Westwood,  Med- 
field, Millis,  and  West  Medway  are  located  upon  the  line  of  the  old 
turnpike. 

The  town  records  of  Medway  show  that  in  1803  the  town  was  asked 
to  give  its  suffrage  to  a. turnpike,  but  declined.  The  "  History  of  Med- 
way," published  by  the  town,  states  that  the  petition  for  legislation  es- 
tablishing the  Hartford  and  Dedham  was  signed  by  sixty-nine  citizens, 
and  was  opposed  by  others  who  sought  to  build  a  road  between  the  same 

[138] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

terminals,  but  through  Franklin,  North  Wrentham,  and  Walpole.  Al- 
though unsuccessful  in  their  opposition,  these  parties  succeeded  the  next 
year  in  securing  a  charter  for  their  route  in  the  name  of  the  Winsocket 
Turnpike  Corporation. 

The  road  was  about  sixteen  and  a  half  miles  long,  and  cost  about 
$1940  a  mile,  or  $32,029.50  all  told.  Returns  were  filed  for  the  years 
1808  to  1 812,  both  inclusive,  during  which  time  the  net  earnings  aver- 
aged one  half  of  one  per  cent  per  annum. 

Medfield  saw  good  prospects  in  the  proposed  turnpike,  for  that  town 
in  1803  voted  seventy  to  eight,  for  indorsement  of  the  project  says 
Tilden's  "  History  of  Medfield,"  which  also  informs  us  that  the  stock 
sold  for  a  few  years  at  fifty  dollars,  but  quickly  declined  to  ten  dollars, 
and  was  soon  worthless. 

In  1830  the  portion  in  Dedham,  Dover,  Medfield,  and  Medway 
became  free,  and  in  1838  the  balance  was  thrown  open.  Medfield  was 
assessed  thirty  dollars,  and  Medway  one  hundred  and  sixty  dollars,  as 
their  respective  portions  of  the  damage  to  be  paid  the  corporation  for 
its  road. 

One  tollgate  stood  where  the  railroad  now  crosses  the  old  road  at 
Millis,  another  barred  the  way  at  the  corner  of  Main  and  Bridge  streets 
in  Medfield.  The  last  was  located  under  authority  of  an  act  passed 
April  12,  1836,  but  it  would  seem  that  the  gate  had  been  established 
there  for  some  time  previous  to  that  date,  for  the  act  further  relieves 
the  corporation  from  any  liability  on  account  of  its  being  illegally 
placed. 

An  increase  of  twenty-five  per  cent  in  the  rates  of  toll  on  one-horse 
vehicles  was  granted  in  18 13,  which  might  have  served  as  a  warning 
to  the  electric  railway  company  which  secured  a  franchise  over  the  same 
road  three  quarters  of  a  century  after  the  abolition  of  tolls.  That  com- 
pany, unable  to  exist  on  five-cent  fares,  sought  to  assess  six  instead,  and 
when  threatened  with  legal  process  to  restrain  it  therefrom  gave  up 
running  its  cars  until  the  increase  was  allowed  it. 

The  Connecticut  corporation  which  provided  the  road  to  complete 
the  system  from  the  westerly  end  of  the  Ninth  Massachusetts  to  Hart- 
ford was  the  Boston  Turnpike  Company.  This  public  utility  was  in- 
corporated by  the  Connecticut  legislature  in  October,  1797,  with  a 
capital  of  4800  pounds,  and  a  franchise  to  build  a  road 

from  Hartford  through  the  towns  of  East  Hartford,  Bolton,  Coventry,  Mansfield, 
Ashford,  Pomfret,  and  Thompson,  to  the  Massachusetts  line, 

a  distance  of  approximately  forty-eight  miles.     In  the  usual  language 
of  the  early  acts,  it  was  authorized 

to  erect  and  establish  four  turnpikes  on  said  road, 

one  of  which  was  to  be 

at  or  near  the  notch  of  the  mountain  in  Bolton, 
[140] 


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THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

where  the  trains  between  Willimantic  and  Hartford  pass  through  a  cut 
of  solid  rock  with  perpendicular  walls  seventy  feet  high. 

In  May,  1798,  the  company  was  released  from  its  obligation  to 
build  between  Bolton  and  the  Connecticut  River,  but  in  18 12  it  secured 
a  renewal  of  the  privilege,  and  connected  with  the  Hartford  and  Tol- 
land Turnpike  in  East  Hartford,  over  which  and  the  East  Hartford 
Ferry  travelers  from  Boston  reached  Connecticut's  capital. 

The  Salem  and  Chelmsford  Turnpike  Corporation  and  the  Wiscasset 
and  Dresden  Turnpike  Corporation,  chartered  on  the  same  ninth  of 
March,  seem  to  have  failed  to  carry  out  their  intentions.  The  former 
looks  like  an  attempt  to  divert  from  Boston  the  trade  of  the  southern 
New  Hampshire  towns,  which  was  flowing  down  through  Bedford  and 
Billerica,  and  to  lead  the  same  to  the  markets  and  ports  of  Salem;  but 
if  such  was  the  idea  the  promoters  lacked  the  courage  of  their  convic- 
tions. The  two  Wiscasset  turnpikes  which  we  have  already  noted  were 
links  in  a  system  of  through  roads,  and  prospects  justified  their  con- 
struction, but  a  road  from  Wiscasset  to  Dresden  was  only  a  local  affair 
connecting  the  county  seat  with  a  small  adjacent  village. 

The  Sheffield  and  Tyringham  Turnpike  Corporation,  June  23,  1804, 
probably  was  designed  as  a  portion  of  a  route  from  the  upper  Housa- 
tonic  Valley  to  Hartford,  but  no  evidence  has  been  found  that  it  ever 
constructed  its  road. 


THE    DORCHESTER   TURNPIKE 

In  1805  the  South  Cove  District  of  Boston  and  the  Commonwealth 
Flats  in  South  Boston  were  under  water,  and  the  present  Fort  Point 
Channel  was  a  portion  of  so  broad  an  expanse  of  the  harbor  that  that 
restricted  name  had  not  been  applied  to  it.  The  northerly  point  of 
South  Boston,  known  as  Nook  Point,  barely  reached  north  of  Fourth 
Street,  hence  the  first  bridge  connection  from  Boston  to  South  Boston 
was  on  the  line  of  the  present  Dover  Street. 

March  6,  1804,  the  Proprietors  of  the  Boston  South  Bridge  were 
incorporated  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  bridge  from  Front  Street, 
now  Harrison  Avenue  in  Boston  to  Foundry  Street  in  South  Boston. 
The  bridge  was  opened  for  public  travel  October  1,  1805,  and  was 
operated  as  a  toll  bridge  for  twenty-seven  years,  being  sold  to  the  City 
of  Boston  April  19,  1832.  By  vote  of  trie  city  council  it  was  named 
Dover  Street  Bridge  in  1857.  Approach  to  the  South  Boston  end  was 
had  over  the  road  now  known  as  West  Fourth  Street. 

While  the  bridge  was  under  construction  a  proposition  for  a  turn- 
pike to  lead  from  it  was  brought  forth,  and  in  consequence  the  Dor- 
chester Turnpike  Corporation  was  created  by  act  of  the  legislature 
March  4,  1805,  with  a  franchise  to  build  a  road  from 

[141]. 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

the  bridge  over  Neponset  River,  commonly  called  Milton  Bridge,  to  Nook  Point,  so 
called,  in  Boston. 

The  northerly  part  of  South  Boston  had  been  annexed  to  Boston  in 
1804,  hence  the  charter  of  1805  speaks  of  Nook  Point  as  in  Boston. 

Under  the  authority  thus  given,  the  Dorchester  Turnpike  was  laid 
out  and  built  from  the  bridge  at  Milton  Lower  Mills  to  Fourth  Street 
in  two  straight  stretches,  passing  through  Ashmont,  Harrison  Square, 
Savin  Hill,  Washington  Village,  and  South  Boston.  At  Milton  Lower 
Mills,  except  for. a  short  intervening  distance,  it  connected  with  the  Blue 
Hill  Turnpike.  As  Dorchester  Avenue  the  Dorchester  Turnpike  is 
known  to-day  for  its  entire  length. 

In  Orcutt's  "  Good  Old  Dorchester  "  we  read  that  the  road  cost 
more  than  was  anticipated,  which  obliged  the  corporation  to  charge 
higher  tolls,  thus  making  the  road  unpopular,  many  preferring  to  go 
without  toll  by  way  of  Roxbury.  The  charging  of  higher  tolls  is  open 
to  doubt,  as  we  have  seen  that  rates  of  toll  were  fixed  in  the  act  of 
incorporation  and  could  be  changed  only  by  subsequent  legislation,  and 
no  act  authorizing  higher  rates  has  been  observed.  But  beyond  a 
doubt  the  road  cost  more  than  expected. 

The  cost  of  this  road  was  $43,686.20,  or  a  pro  rata  of  about  $8740 
for  a  length  of  about  five  miles.  Returns  were  filed  intermittently  at 
first,  but  continuously  after  1825.  These  are  plotted  on  the  accompany- 
ing chart  and  show  the  Dorchester  to  have  been  one  of  the  best  paying 
of  the  turnpikes.  Receipts  began  to  climb  in  1826  and  reached  their 
peak  in  1838,.  in  which  year  the  gross  earnings  were  fourteen  per  cent 
and  the  net  about  nine.  In  the  last  years  before  the  railroads  the  earn- 
ings were  heavy,  but  dropped  at  once  upon  the  opening  of  the  Old 
Colony  Railroad  in  November,  1844.  In  1852  the  corporation  was  the 
loser  in  a  lawsuit  for  damages  on  account  of  an  accident  on  its  turnpike, 
and  was  assessed  the  sum  of  $2215.06  in  consequence.  In  its  return 
for  that  year  that  item  was  rendered  separately,  with  a  pitiful  cry  of 
injustice  and  claim  that  the  accident  was  through  no  fault  of  the 
corporation. 

The  maps  of  to-day  would  give  one  the  impression  that  the  turnpike 
continued  straight  to  the  present  bridge  over  Fort  Point  Channel,  but 
as  already  seen  it  ended  at  the  road  leading  to  the  Dover  Street  Bridge. 
The  Federal  Street  Bridge,  which  is  the  one  over  Fort  Point  Channel, 
was  built  in  1827  and  1828  by  the  Boston  Free  Bridge  Corporation  and 
deeded  to  the  city  of  Boston  September  26,  1828.  Included  in  the 
bridge  layout  was  the  portion  of  what  is  now  Dorchester  Avenue  be- 
tween the  end  of  the  bridge  and  West  First  Street.  From  the  end  of 
the  Dorchester  Turnpike  to  the  approach  to  the  bridge  at  West  First 
Street  a  street  was  built  near  the  close  of  the  year  1828,  which  was 
named  Turnpike  Street.  This  was  done  by  the  municipal  authorities 
of  Boston,  and  that  street  was  never  a  part  of  the  turnpike. 

The  Dorchester  Turnpike  was  laid  out  as  a  public  way  April  22, 

■[142] 


Wooden  plow  in  Fairbanks  Museum,  St.  Johnsbury,  Vt. 
Digging  and  removing  Beacon  Hill,  Boston 

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THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

1854,  Orcutt  says,  by  public  subscription,  and  was  then  named  Dorches- 
ter Avenue,  which  name  had  been  given  to  Turnpike  Street  about  a 
month  earlier.  In  1856  the  name  was  changed  to  Federal  Street,  but 
"  Dorchester  Avenue  "  was  restored  in  1870.  The  entire  length  of  the 
Dorchester  Turnpike  is  now  included  within  the  limits  of  the  city  of 
Boston,  while  if  built  one  year  earlier  it  would  then  have  laid  wholly  in 
the  town  of  Dorchester.  Dorchester  Neck,  as  South  Boston  was  for- 
merly called,  was  annexed  to  Boston  on  March  4,  1804,  Washington 
Village  being  added  in  1855,  and  tne  balance  of  Dorchester  becoming 
a  part  of  Boston  in  1870. 

By  its  connection  with  the  Blue  Hill  and  the  latter's  connection  with 
the  Taunton  and  South  Boston,  the  Dorchester  Turnpike  offered  a 
direct  and  improved  road  all  the  way  from  Boston  to  Taunton,  which 
in  those  days  was  foremost  in  the  production  of  brick  and  iron  as  well 
as  a  shipping  port  of  prominence.  So  it  is  easy  to  imagine  a  heavy 
traffic  over  the  turnpikes  named,  in  which  we  are  confirmed  by  a  his- 
torian of  one  of  the  towns  along  the  Taunton  and  South  Boston. 

Only  two  years  after  the  corporation  relinquished  its  control  over  the 
Dorchester  Turnpike,  horse  cars  appeared  on  the  new  public  street,  and 
a  portion  of  the  taxpayers,  who  now  maintained  the  road,  continued 
to  pay  toll  for  riding  upon  it. 

Although  a  committee  was  appointed  in  1805  to  lay  out  the  Tyring- 
ham  and  Lee  Turnpike,  the  corporation  for  which  was  chartered  March 
15,  1805,  no  further  record  of  the  road  has  been  found  and,  in  the 
absence  of  any  roads  on  the  ground  suggesting  turnpike  principles,  it  is 
concluded  that  this  turnpike  was  never  built.  It  evidently  was  de- 
signed to  connect  with  the  Sheffield  and  Tyringham  in  that  part  of 
Tyringham  now  called  Monterey,  and  open  intercourse  between  the 
upper  Housatonic  Valley  and  Hartford.  But  neither  company  seems 
to  have  done  any  construction. 

THE    BATH    OR   GOVERNOR    KING'S    TURNPIKE 

Maine  claims  our  attention  again,  for  we  find  the  Bath  Bridge  and 
Turnpike  Corporation  formed  March  15,  1805,  to  build  a  road  in  a 
straight  line  from  Bowdoin  College  in  Brunswick  to  Bath,  with  a  bridge 
over  New  Meadows  River.  This  corporation,  which  was  principally 
owned  by  Governor  William  King,  promptly  built  its  road  of  about 
eight  miles  at  a  cost,  including  the  bridge,  of  $16,840.20.  As  the  bridge 
was  the  chief  obstacle  to  a  free  highway,  it  is  probable  that  a  large  part 
of  the  cost  was  due  to  such  construction,  so  a  pro-rata  cost  per  mile 
would  be  misleading.  We  gather  from  Wheeler's  "  History  of  Bruns- 
wick "  that 

This  turnpike  was  well  made,  and  the  roadbed  was  hard  and  smooth.  It  went 
through  the  woods  nearly  all  the  way  east  of  Cook's  Corner.    The  bridge  over  the 

[i44] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

New  Meadows  River  was  a  few  rods  south  of  where  the  Maine  Central  Railroad 
now  crosses,  and  the  gate  and  toll  house  were  at  the  west  end  of  the  bridge. 

According  to  Lemont's  "  Historical  Dates  of  Bath,"  there  was  an- 
other turnpike  between  Bath  and  Brunswick,  crossing  the  New  Meadows 
River  at  Brown's  Ferry.     Wheeler  disputes  this,  however,  saying: 

there  is  no  evidence  that  another  turnpike  was  built  in  Brunswick.  The  bridge  at 
Brown's  Ferry  was  built  previous  to  that  of  Governor  King,  and  only  the  abutments 
and  piers  remained  in  1808.  It  is  more  probable  that  what  Lemont  calls  the  second 
turnpike  was  a  "  shunpike  "  as  it  is  well  known  that,  to  avoid  paying  toll,  travellers 
from  Brunswick  left  the  turnpike  at  Cook's  Corner  and  crossed  the  river  at  Brown's 
Ferry.  It  was  owing  to  this  fact  that  Governor  King  established  a  gate  on  the 
turnpike  west  of  Cook's  Corner.  That  expedient  proved  of  no  avail  however,  as 
travellers  thereafter  drove  across  the  plains  to  Cook's  Corner,  and  then  down  to 
Brown's  Ferry,  thus  avoiding  both  toll  gates. 

This  turnpike  followed  the  lines  of  the  present  Bath  Street  in  Bruns- 
wick, and  Center  Street  in  Bath,  the  westerly  terminus  being  on  High 
Street  on  the  north  side  of  the  courthouse.  Connecting  by  means  of 
Day's  Ferry  across  the  Kennebec  with  the  Wiscasset  and  Woolwich 
Turnpike,  which  in  turn  connected  with  the  Wiscasset  and  Augusta,  it 
opened  improved  communication  between  Portland  and  the  town  which 
was  to  be  the  capital  of  the  new  state. 

An  act  defining  the  general  powers  and  duties  of  turnpike  corpora- 
tions was  passed  March  16,  1805.  Hitherto  each  act  of  incorporation 
had  been  a  dreary  repetition  of  those  before,  each  petty  detail  of 
powers  and  liabilities  being  set  forth  at  length.  But  after  this  act  every 
company  incorporated  was  to  have  such  powers  and  be  liable  for  speci- 
fied things  under  a  general  law.  No  more  charters  were  to  be  granted 
until  the  route  desired  had  been  viewed  at  the  expense  of  the  petitioners, 
by  a  committee  of  the  legislature,  of  which  view  public  notice  was  to 
be  given.  The  charter  was  granted,  the  road  to  be  laid  out  by  a  com- 
mittee consisting  of  five  disinterested  freeholders,  residents  of  the 
county  in  which  the  road  was  to  be  built.  All  future  roads  were  to  be 
twenty-four  feet  wide,  in  the  improved  portion,  and  four  rods  alto- 
gether. Rates  of  toll  were  fixed  for  all  comers,  leaving  the  adjustment 
of  earnings  to  be  regulated  by  the  location  of  the  gates.  Permission  was 
given  to  commute  tolls.  One  half  rates  only  could  be  collected  on 
wagons  having  "  fellies  "  six  inches  or  more  in  width.  Treble  toll 
could  be  demanded  of  vehicles  which  damaged  the  road,  and  on  the 
other  hand  the  corporation  was  liable  for  from  two  to  ten  dollars  in 
damages  for  delaying  travelers  or  demanding  excess  toll.  The  liability 
of  the  corporation  for  defects  in  its  road  was  clearly  stated.  A  gate 
could  be  moved  by  permission  of  the  court  of  common  pleas ;  three  dis- 
interested freeholders  being  appointed  a  committee  to  give  a  hearing, 
relocate  the  gate,  and  report  to  the  court.  If  the  road  was  out  of  re- 
pair, upon  complaint  a  justice  of  the  court  of  common  pleas  could 

[145] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

order  the  gates  to  be  opened  if  after  ten  days'  notice  the  repairs  had 
not  been  made.  When  any  road  was  made  free,  all  land  owned  by  the 
corporation  reverted  to  the  former  owners,  even  if  the  same  had  been 
purchased  in  fee.  A  new  feature  was  introduced  in  section  eleven,  which 
provided  that  the  legislature  might  dissolve  any  corporation  thereafter 
established  "  after  the  expiration  of  twenty  years,  or  sooner  if  it  shall 
appear  to  their  satisfaction  that  the  income  of  said  road  shall  have 
compensated,"  etc.  And  any  charter  was  to  be  void  if  the  road  was  not 
completed  within  five  years.  This  appears  to  be  the  earliest  general 
corporation  law. 

The  locations  of  some  of  the  earlier  corporations  are  found  on  the 
county  records,  and  some  are  not.  The  law  which  empowered  a  com- 
mittee of  the  legislature  to  lay  out  a  road  did  not  require  any  record 
of  that  committee's  proceedings  in  a  county  office,  but  many  of  the 
companies  seem  to  have  been  unable  to  get  away  from  precedent,  and 
their  enterprise  being  a  road  they  recorded  it  the  same  as  was  customary 
with  roads.  Other  roads  were  "  viewed  "  by  a  legislative  committee, 
and  more  definitely  located  later  by  a  committee  of  the  court  of  ses- 
sions, as  was  the  Cambridge  and  Concord,  for  which  the  court  committee 
located  the  road  along  the  same  line  as  had  been  viewed  by  the  "  solons 
of  Beacon  Hill."  But  from  now  on  we  expect  to  find  all  following  the 
same  procedure. 

The  first  production  under  the  new  law  was  the  Winsocket  Turnpike 
Corporation,  incorporated  before  the  general  act  was  twenty-four  hours 
old.  This  was  the  company  desired  by  the  opponents  of  the  Hartford 
and  Dedham,  and  its  route  connected  practically  the  same  terminals; 
but  since  the  other  road  was  built,  courage  was  lacking  for  this,  and  the 
franchise  was  never  used. 

The  Blandford  and  Russell  Turnpike  Corporation,  created  the  same 
day,  seems  to  have  died  in  infancy. 


THE   BRUSH    HILL   TURNPIKE 

The  Brush  Hill  Turnpike  Corporation,  also  of  the  sixteenth  of 
March,  built  its  road 

between  Davenports  Corner,  so-called,  near  the  west  end  of  Blue  Hill  in  Milton,  in 
the  county  of  Norfolk,  and  near  the  four  mile  stone  in  Roxbury,  near  the  dwelling- 
house  of  Ebenezer  Seaver  Esq.  as  follows :  Beginning  at  said  Davenports  Corner,  by 
the  most  favorable  route,  to  the  Upper  Bridge,  so-called,  near  Boies'  Mills,  from 
thence,  by  the  most  favorable  route,  at  or  near  the  said  four  mile  stone. 

It  will  be  noticed  that  the  usual  straight-line  requirement  is  left  out 
of  this  franchise,  and  yet  the  resultant  turnpike  stands  out  prominently 
on  the  map  on  account  of  the  rigidity  of  its  alignment. 

[146] 


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THE   TURNPIKES    OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

An  interesting  paper  on  "  Milestones  in  and  near  Boston  "  was  read 
before  the  Brookline  Historical  Society  by  Charles  F.  Read,  from  which 
we  obtain  information  regarding  the  "  four  mile  stone  "  mentioned  as 
the  end  of  the  turnpike  franchise. 

In  stage-coach  days  nearly  all  the  important  routes  were  marked  with 
milestones,  and  at  the  opening  of  the  turnpike  era  Massachusetts  was 
liberally  supplied  with  them.  The  work  was  commenced  in  1707  by 
Judge  Samuel  Sewall,  whose  diary  is  familiar  to  all  students  of  Boston's 
early  days,  and  by  him  were  set  the  first  two  milestones,  measuring  the 
distance  along  Newbury  Street,  as  Washington  Street  was  then  called, 
from  the  "  Boston  town  house."  From  a  point  beyond  the  second  and 
not  far  enough  for  the  third,  five  roads  radiated,  and  the  work  for  a 
few  miles  along  each  of  these  was  continued  by  Paul  Dudley,  afterwards 
chief  justice  of  Massachusetts  Bay,  in  1734  and  1735. 

The  "  Upper  Road  "  to  Quincy  followed  practically  the  present  lines 
of  Warren  and  Washington  streets  through  Roxbury  and  Dorchester 
to  Milton  Lower  Mills,  and  thence  over  Adams  Street  through  East 
Milton.  The  "  four  mile  stone  "  mentioned  in  the  charter  of  the  Brush 
Hill  Turnpike  was  on  this  road,  and  is  still  standing  on  Warren  Street 
opposite  number  473,  and  between  Harrishof  and  Wyoming  streets. 
It  is  marked 

B4 

1735 
PD 

At  the  inception  of  the  Brush  Hill  Turnpike  Bugbee's  Tavern 
stood  near  this  milepost,  the  first  resting  place  on  the  tiresome  journey 
to  Quincy. 

The  turnpike  was  located,  according  to  Norfolk  County  records, 
in  1805,  but  the  corporation  did  not  improve  its  franchise  as  far  as  the 
"  four  mile  stone,"  ending  its  road  at  the  square  now  known  as  Grove 
Hall,  nearly  a  half  mile  from  the  stone.  The  broad  boulevard,  called 
Blue  Hill  Avenue,  extending  from  Grove  Hall  past  Franklin  Park  to 
Mattapan,  and  the  beautiful  road  through  Milton  to  the  westerly  foot 
of  Great  Blue  Hill  is  the  legacy  left  us  by  the  Brush  Hill  Turnpike. 

Teele's  "  History  of  Milton  "  tells  us  of  a  town  meeting  at  which  it 
was  voted 

that  we  do  highly  disapprove  of  a  turnpike  being  made  from  the  road  at  the  west 
end  of  the  Blew  Hills  to  the  upper  bridge,  as  petitioned  by  Samuel  Leonard  and 
others. 

But  high  disapproval  did  not  prevail  and  the  road  was  completed  by 
1809.  No  returns  of  cost  or  business  done  were  ever  made  by  this 
corporation.  Apparently  the  free  list,  as  originally  made  up,  had  over- 
looked military  and  spiritual  preparedness,  for  in  18 10  an  act  was 
passed  applying  to  this  road,  providing  that  the  corporation  should  not 
collect  toll  "  from  anyone  on  military  duty,  on  religious  dutv,  coming 

[147] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

to  or  from  any  grist  mill,  or  on  the  common  or  ordinary  business  of 
family  concerns,  or  from  anyone  who  had  not  been  out  of  town  with 
a  loaded  team  or  carriage." 

An  interesting  comparison  with  later  days  may  be  drawn  from  a 
legislature's  assuming  that  every  toll  gatherer  would  be  able  to  tell  the 
nature  of  his  customer's  business  and  how  far  he  had  been  or  was  going. 
To  those  of  us  who  have  spent  much  time  in  certain  of  New  England's 
rural  regions,  that  assumption  may  not  seem  so  very  unreasonable, 
after  all. 

It  is  hard  at  the  present  time  to  see  what  prospects  of  financial 
success  this  road  ever  had.  It  was  not  projected  as  a  through  route  to 
any  large  place.  Beyond  Mattapan,  which  was  but  nothing  then,  the 
route  led  through  and  ended  in  unbroken  woods.  Canton,  for  whose 
business  the  road  must  have  looked,  lay  five  miles  beyond  the  authorized 
southern  terminus.  True  the  turnpike  was  built  in  the  route  of  the 
"  Old  Bay  Road,"  which  was  the  earliest  line  of  travel  between  Boston 
and  Taunton,  and  it  may  have  been  expected  that  travelers  would  follow 
the  old  lines,  thankfully  accepting  as  much  turnpike  improvement  as 
was  given  them.  Another  turnpike,  the  Stoughton,  was  authorized  a 
year  later,  which  commenced  two  miles  south  of  the  southerly  end  of 
the  Brush  Hill  and  ran  thence  to  a  junction  with  the  Taunton  and  South 
Boston,  in  Easton,  thus  opening  a  through  route,  except  for  the  two 
miles  noted,  from  Boston  to  Taunton.  But  evidently  the  combination 
was  not  a  paying  one. 

In  1857  the  Brush  Hill  corporation  was  allowed  to  surrender  its 
road  in  Milton  without  receiving  compensation  for  the  same  being  made 
a  free  highway.  That  it  was  not  a  road  of  much  public  value  is  evident 
from  the  fact  that  the  town  of  Milton  neglected  to  lay  it  out  until 
prompted  by  the  legislature,  which  set  February  26,  i860,  as  the  limit 
within  which  the  road  could  be  publicly  laid  out  without  compensation 
to  the  corporation.  A  portion  in  Milton  and  Dorchester  had  been  laid 
out  by  the  county  commissioners  in  December,  1849,  and  in  October, 
1856,  the  corporation  relinquished  its  rights  on  the  northerly  end  as 
far  as  Grove  Hall,  and  the  commissioners  accepted  that  part  of  the 
road  for  the  county,  naming  it  Grove  Hall  Avenue,  by  which  name  it 
was  known  until  1870. 

The  custom  of  placing  milestones  was  revived  after  turnpikes  had 
opened  new  lanes,  and  the  Brush  Hill  received  attention  from  John 
McLean.  He  was  the  Boston  merchant  who  bequeathed  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars  to  the  Massachusetts  General  Hospital,  and  for  whom 
the  McLean  Asylum  was  named;  and  just  before  his  death,  in  1823,  he 
commenced  the  erection  of  milestones  to  mark  the  distance  along  the 
Brush  Hill  Turnpike.  The  work  not  being  completed  when  he  died, 
was  continued  by  his  business  partner,  Isaac  Davenport.  The  measure- 
ments commence  with  Dudley's  "  four  mile  stone,"  the  first  stone  being 
set  where  Harvard  Street  now  intersects  the  old  road  and  marked 
[148] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

BOSTON 

5  MILES 

J.  MCLEAN 

1823. 

The  McLean  stones  are  uniform,  except  for  the  figure  indicating  the 
distance,  and  may  be  seen  to-day  along  the  road,  the  last,  the  ten  mile, 
being  safely  set  in  the  stone  wall  of  a  private  estate  not  far  from  the 
boundary  line  between  Milton  and  Canton. 

At  the  Upper  Mills  stood  an  old  bridge,  built  by  the  towns  of  Dor- 
chester and  Milton  in  1733.  Far  out  in  the  wilderness  as  it  was,  the 
towns  gladly  allowed  the  Brush  Hill  Turnpike  to  assume  its  mainte- 
nance. At  the  northerly  end  the  corporation  was  allowed  to  incorporate 
into  its  toll  road  about  three  thousand  feet  of  the  old  Canterbury  Street, 
but  elsewhere  the  turnpike  broke  its  way  through  unopened  districts. 

The  Fryeburg,  Baldwin,  and  Portland  Turnpike  Corporation, 
March  16,  1805,  although  it  had  the  privilege  of  improving  the  road 
and  collecting  tolls  on  the  much-traveled  route  from  northern  New 
Hampshire  and  the  upper  Connecticut  Valley  of  Vermont,  to  Portland, 
never  improved  the  opportunity. 

The  Williamsburg  and  Windsor  Turnpike  Corporation,  the  fifth 
created  on  that  sixteenth  of  March,  proposed  to  build  a  road  twenty- 
five  miles  long  over  a  route  which  so  far  has  not  attracted  railroad 
capital.  Its  franchise  extended  across  the  towns  of  Williamsburg, 
Goshen,  Cummington,  and  Windsor  to  the  east  line  of  Cheshire.  The 
region  is  rough  and  mountainous  and  the  route  closely  paralleled  the 
Third  Massachusetts,  and,  since  we  can  find  no  records  beyond  the  in- 
corporation, we  can  readily  conclude  that  this  road  never  materialized. 

The  Ossapee  Turnpike  Corporation  was  the  sixth  of  that  day's  grist. 
This  was  projected  in  connection  with  the  Great  Ossipee  Turnpike 
Corporation  of  New  Hampshire  to  connect  Saco,  Maine,  with  Sand- 
wich, New  Hampshire,  by  way  of  Effingham,  but  we  have  been  unable 
to  find  that  it  ever  built  its  road. 


THE  ANDOVER  AND  MEDFORD  TURNPIKE 

The  Andover  and  Medford  Turnpike  Corporation  was  incorporated 
in  the  following  June,  on  the  fifteenth,  with  authority  to  build  from 
a  point  in  Andover  to  the  Medford  market  place,  but,  as  already  noted 
in  connection  with  the  Essex  Turnpike,  it  improved  its  franchise  only 
as  far  as  the  line  between  Reading  and  Stoneham,  leaving  the  portion 
in  Essex  County  to  be  built  by  the  Essex  corporation. 

The  cost  of  this  road  was  $48,920.95,  or  a  pro  rata  of  about  $8150 
for  a  length  of  about  six  miles.     Returns  were  filed  for  only  two  years, 

[i49] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

1807  and  1808,  the  showing  for  those  years  being  an  algebraic  sum 
of  minus  $250. 

The  location  was  duly  made  by  a  committee  of  disinterested  Middle- 
sex freeholders,  who  reported  to  the  court  in  September,  1806,  and 
the  road  evidently  was  promptly  built.  Three  miles  was  saved  in  the 
hauling  of  ship  timber  and  country  produce  from  New  Hampshire 
points,  the  road  forming  a  link  in  the  through  and  direct  route  to  Con- 
cord and  other  New  Hampshire  towns,  as  well  as  to  the  southwestern 
part  of  Vermont.  But  according  to  Brooks  in  his  "  History  of  Med- 
ford  "  the  receipts  did  not  compensate  for  the  outlay.  Brooks'  further 
statements  regarding  the  efforts  of  the  corporation  to  give  away  its  road 
in  1830  appear  to  be  at  variance  with  the  records  in  East  Cambridge, 
which  show  quite  a  contest  over  taking  the  franchise  away. 

A  petition  entered  by  various  citizens  for  the  freeing  of  the  road  in 
May,  1833,  met  with  sufficient  opposition  to  cause  it  to  drop  out  of 
sight,  and  not  until  January,  1836,  did  the  road  become  free  of  toll. 
Then  the  county  commissioners  declared  the  road  public,  and  the  cor- 
poration was  allowed  until  the  eighteenth  of  that  month  to  remove  its 
gates  and  other  personal  property.  Three  thousand  dollars  was  the 
amount  which  was  allowed  the  corporation  as  damages  for  the  loss  of 
its  privileges,  from  which  the  company  appealed,  making  petition  for 
a  jury  to  decide  that  question.  Upon  the  refusal  of  the  commissioners 
to  entertain  the  appeal  the  supreme  court  was  asked  to  intervene  with 
a  mandamus,  but  that  also  was  refused.  The  commissioners,  thus  sus- 
tained, dismissed  the  whole  matter  in  May,  1837,  and  the  Andover  and 
Medford  Turnpike  passed  into  history. 

By  the  act  passed  on  February  27,  1807,  this  company  and  the  Essex 
were  allowed  to  maintain  one  gate  together  where  their  roads  joined 
at  the  county  line. 

A  beautiful  ride  is  offered  to-day  over  the  old  turnpike,  traversing, 
as  it  does,  the  heart  of  the  Middlesex  Fells  Reservation  of  the  Metro- 
politan Park  System  and  following  close  to  the  west  shore  of  Spot  Pond, 
as  it  was  required  to  do,  away  back  in  1805.  Forest  Street  in  Medford 
and  Main  Street  in  Stoneham  are  to  be  followed  if  one  desires  to  trace 
the  old  Andover  and  Medford  Turnpike. 

THE    MIDDLESEX   TURNPIKE 

The  Middlesex  Turnpike  Corporation,  chartered  on  the  same  day, 
appears  to  have  been  the  most  aggressive  and  the  most  antagonized  of 
any  of  the  companies.  For  over  four  years  the  battle  raged  over  the 
location  of  the  road,  the  diversion  to  private  control  of  long-established 
public  highways,  and  the  erection  of  gates  where  all  had  been  wont  to 
pass  without  hindrance  for  generations,  —  the  contest  being  carried  from 
the  county  courts  to  the  halls  of  legislation  when  necessary  to  override 
or  change  the  existing  laws.  Only  in  the  local  histories  of  Arlington 
[150] 


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Near  the  Lexington-Burlington. line 

At  Turnpike  Station,  Billerica 

Old  abutments  at  the  crossing  of  the  Concord  River 

Plate  XXXIX  —  Middlesex  Turnpike 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

is  any  mention  of  this  controversy  to  be  found,  while  one  impressive 
memorial  history  of  a  town,  in  which  much  of  the  trouble  originated 
and  where  intense  public  feeling  must  have  been  aroused,  makes  no  men- 
tion at  all  of  the  controversy  or  building  of  the  road,  the  sole  reference 
to  the  subject  being  the  statement  that  of  three  great  highways  crossing 
the  town  the  Middlesex  Turnpike  was  one. 

The  route  specified  in  the  charter  began  at  Tyngsboro  meeting- 
house and  ran  to  Chelmsford,  thence  to  Billerica,  and  thence  to  a  point 
in  Bedford  described  as  "  a  stake  in  land  of  Abel  Wyman,  about  twelve 
miles  and  one  hundred  and  twenty  rods  from  Boston."  At  the  point 
thus  precisely  and  definitely  located  the  road  was  to  divide,  one  line 
running  to  Medford  Village  by  way  of  Symmes'  Corner,  and  the  other 
passing  directly  to  "  the  rocks,  so  called,  in  Cambridge,"  thence  over 
"  the  old  road  "  to  a  point  between  the  houses  of  Stephen  Goddard  and 
Walter  Frost,  probably  near  the  center  of  the  present  Arlington,  from 
which  place  the  route  was  to  run  directly  to  a  connection  with  the  Cam- 
bridge and  Concord  near  the  westerly  end  of  the  West  Boston  Bridge. 

"  The  Rocks  "  mentioned  in  the  prescribed  route  were  situated  on 
the  present-day  Massachusetts  Avenue  about  a  half  mile  toward  Boston 
from  Arlington  Heights,  where  a  tablet  suitably  inscribed  may  be  seen 
by  all  who  pass  recording  the  location.  The  stake,  so  accurately 
located,  might  have  "  tossed  up  "  to  see  if  it  would  place  itself  in  Bed- 
ford or  Billerica,  so  close  to  the  extreme  northeast  corner  of  Bedford 
did  it  come.  It  plainly  was  placed  on  a  mathematically  straight  line 
between  Tyngsboro  and  Medford,  which  evidently  was  intended  to  be 
the  main  line  of  the  turnpike,  while  the  portion  through  Cambridge 
was  but  a  side  issue.  But  the  latter  was  the  part  which  was  built,  the 
section  between  Bedford  and  Medford  never  getting  beyond  an  appli- 
cation for  a  layout. 

A  little  common  sense  may  be  discerned  in  the  foregoing  description 
of  the  route,  as  it  will  be  observed  that  the  road  was  to  pass  through 
the  centers  of  Chelmsford  and  Billerica,  but  that  did  not  last  long  for, 
on  June  23,  1806,  the  corporation  secured  an  amendment  to  its  charter 
allowing  it  to  locate  its  road  straight  from  the  famous  stake  to  "  Buisket 
Bridge  in  Tyngsbury,"  thus  leaving  Billerica  one  mile  to  the  east  and 
Chelmsford  about  three  quarters  of  a  mile  to  the  west.  The  total  sav- 
ing in  distance  by  this  cut  off  could  not  have  been  over  a  mile,  and  it 
is  of  record  that  the  bulk  of  the  expected  traffic  refused  to  desert  its  old 
route,  the  drivers  from  New  Hampshire  towns  preferring  to  put  up 
at  the  taverns  they  had  known  so  long.  Had  the  road  to  Medford  been 
built  the  result  might  not  have  been  so  disappointing,  but  the  Cambridge 
route  asked  them  to  journey  through  regions  hitherto  unknown,  and 
they  declined. 

Not  until  February,  1807,  did  the  corporation  file  its  petition  for  a 
committee  to  lay  out  the  route  and  assess  the  damages  to  landowners, 
and  then  the  fun  began.     For  nearly  two  years  the  committee  labored 

[151] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

on  its  task,  and  it  is  easy  to  imagine  the  pressure  brought  to  bear  upon 
it  to  influence  the  location.  The  route  finally  decided  upon  by  the 
committee  followed  the  bank,  of  the  Merrimac  River  from  Tyngsboro 
to  about  the  line  between  that  town  and  Chelmsford,  thence  it  ran 
straight,  crossing  Nuttings  Pond  in  the  middle  to  a  point  in  the  north- 
east corner  of  Bedford,  almost  in  Billerica.  From  that  point  it  ran 
southerly  across  the  western  edge  of  Burlington  until  it  intersected  an 
old  road  near  the  house  of  Joseph  Harrington  in  the  northeast  part  of 
Lexington,  and  followed  that  old  road  to  "  the  rocks."  Then  it  fol- 
lowed an  old  county  road  along  the  north  bank  of  Mill  Brook  to 
Stephen  Goddard's  house,  about  in  Arlington  Center  now.  From  that 
point  the  route  ran  as  straight  as  could  reasonably  be  expected  to  the 
Cambridge  and  Concord  Turnpike  at  West  Boston  Bridge.  According 
to  Parker's  "  History  of  Arlington,"  construction  along  the  north  bank 
of  Mill  Brook  would  have  destroyed  every  mill  in  that  vicinity,  which 
fact  naturally  aroused  intense  opposition,  which  was  supported  by  simi- 
lar feelings  in  Lexington  over  the  appropriation  of  a  part  of  their  old 
town  road. 

So  all  these  interested  parties  were  on  hand  in  December,  1809,  when 
the  report  of  the  locating  committee  was  received  by  the  court,  and  so 
strenuously  did  they  fight  the  proposed  location  that  the  report  was 
rejected  in  toto,  and  the  matter  again  referred  to  the  same  committee 
for  further  action.  Immediately  upon  the  rejection  of  the  report 
various  Lexington  citizens  entered  a  petition  for  a  layout  of  a  county 
road  from  Joseph  Harrington's  house  to  "  the  rocks  "  over  their  exist- 
ing town  road.  Apparently  there  had  been  for  many  years  a  town  road 
leading  from  "  the  rocks  "  across  the  easterly  corner  of  Lexington  into 
the  western  edge  of  Woburn,  and  thence  to  Woburn  Center,  and  it  was 
over  a  part  of  this  road  that  the  corporation  desired  to  build  its  turn- 
pike. Following  the  rejection  of  the  report  including  such  part  in  the 
turnpike,  the  effort  was  made  to  further  embarrass  the  movements  of 
the  corporation  by  giving  that  piece  of  road  the  prestige  of  a  county 
layout.  A  committee  was  at  once  appointed  to  view  the  route  and 
'  report. 

We  are  told  in  Cutter's  "  History  of  Arlington  "  that  a  special  town 
meeting  followed,  at  which  a  committee  was  chosen  to  effect  a  reconcilia- 
tion between  the  corporation  and  the  landowners,  and  to  try  to  locate 
the  turnpike  where  it  would  do  the  most  good  and  the  least  damage. 

The  corporation,  unable  to  obtain  what  it  wanted  from  the  county 
court,  went  higher  and  appealed  to  the  sovereign  people  themselves,  as 
represented  at  the  state  house.  Mindful  of  its  own  interests,  the  town 
of  West  Cambridge,  by  which  name  Arlington  was  known  until  1867, 
instructed  its  representative  to  endeavor  to  have  the  turnpike  located 
"  at  the  foot  of  the  rocks  and  at  no  other  place."  The  resultant  act, 
passed  March  6,  18 10,  seems  to  have  been  a  compromise.  West  Cam- 
bridge secured  the  location  at  "  the  foot  of  the  rocks,"  but  the  corpora- 

[152] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

tion  scored  by  having  the  town  obliged  to  improve  "  the  great  road  " 
from  the  "  foot  of  the  rocks  "  to  what  is  now  Arlington  Center,  and 
contribute  it  for  the  turnpike;  and  further,  the  town  was  to  pay  all 
damages  caused  by  abandoning  the  portion  of  the  original  route  for 
which  the  "  great  road  "  was  substituted.  To  Lexington  it  was  granted 
that  the  turnpike  should  be  located  from  Harrington's  to  the  "  foot  of 
the  rocks  "  at  the  "  great  road."  This  "  great  road  "  was  the  one  over 
which  the  British  troops  marched  in  the  early  morning  hours  of  the 
memorable  nineteenth  of  April,  and  it  was  at  Arlington  Center,  then 
known  as  Menotomy,  that  a  plucky  force  of  old  men,  beyond  the  years 
of  active  service,  waylaid  and  captured  a  train  of  supplies  on  its  way 
to  relieve  the  harassed  soldiers  of  the  king  later  in  the  same  day. 

Spurred  by  the  legislative  action,  the  Middlesex  court  of  sessions 
reconsidered  its  rejection  of  the  report  made  in  December,  1809,  and 
in  March,  18 10,  accepted  the  same  except  the  portion  between  Joseph 
Harrington's  and  "  the  rocks  "  in  the  old  road.  The  effort  to  forestall 
the  turnpike  by  making  a  county  road  over  that  section  was  still  alive, 
and  during  the  same  month  the  committee  reported  in  favor  of  such 
proceeding,  and  another  committee  was  appointed  to  proceed  to  lay  it 
out.  In  June  that  committee  reported,  the  road  was  accepted,  and 
hurry-up  orders  were  issued  to  the  towns  of  Lexington  and  West  Cam- 
bridge to  build  the  road  and  close  all  accounts  within  ninety  days. 

In  September,  18 10,  the  corporation  made  petition  for  approval  of 
the  portion  of  its  road  that  had  been  completed,  and  to  have  the  location 
of  its  gates  determined.  The  ninety  days  within  which  West  Cambridge 
and  Lexington  were  to  build  the  new  county  road  from  Harrington's 
to  "  the  rocks  "  having  expired  without  the  building  of  the  road,  the 
turnpike  corporation  now  renewed  its  application  for  the  court's  ap- 
proval of  its  layout  over  that  section,  but  in  December,  18 10,  the  court 
dismissed  the  application. 

At  the  same  term,  December,  18 10,  the  corporation  entered  a  new 
petition.  West  Cambridge  had  not  completed  the  "  great  road  "  and 
paid  the  damages  as  required  by  the  legislative  act  of  the  sixth  of  the 
previous  March,  and  the  turnpike  company  demanded  that  it  be  allowed 
to  go  ahead  and  build  the  road  itself.  But  it  appeared  that  West 
Cambridge  had  completed  the  road,  or  much  of  it  at  least,  but  that  the 
road  was  a  county  road,  and  hence  beyond  the  power  of  the  town  to 
convey  to  the  company.  So  appeal  was  again  had  to  the  legislature, 
and  on  February  28,  181 1,  the  state  cut  the  Gordian  Knot,  by  decreeing 
that  the  road  should  be  taken  from  the  county  and  given  to  the  turnpike 
corporation.  Therefore  the  company  withdrew  its  petition  to  build 
that  section  itself. 

The  injustice  of  the  foregoing  is  plainly  to  be  seen  and  suggests  a 
powerful  lobbying  force  in  behalf  of  the  corporation.  Because  the  town 
objected  to  having  the  larger  part  of  its  mill  interests  destroyed  and 
prevented  the  turnpike  from  so  locating  as  to  accomplish  that  result, 

[153] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

the  legislature  loaded  it  with  the  expense  of  building  a  mile  and  a  half 
of  improved  road,  took  away  from  it  its  long-established  free  highway, 
and  obliged  it  to  pay  the  costs  which  the  corporation  had  prematurely 
incurred  before  it  had  legal  right  to  do  so.  Considering  the  power 
which  towns  and  counties  had  to  lay  out  free  roads  which  would  divert 
travel  from  the  turnpikes,  and  the  need  which  the  turnpikes  ever  felt 
of  the  good  will  of  their  communities,  it  causes  wonder  that  the  Middle- 
sex Turnpike  Corporation  should  ever  have  pursued  such  high-handed 
methods.  The  cash  payment  by  the  town  for  damages  on  account  of 
the  abandoned  location  was  $516.49,  according  to  Parker. 

Definite  progress  appeared  in  the  report  made  to  the  court  in  June, 
181 1.  The  road,  twenty-six  miles  in  length,  was  almost  completed  and 
four  gates  had  been  erected,  and  the  court  was  asked  to  give  its  final 
approval  so  that  the  road  might  legally  be  operated.  One  of  the  gates 
was  located  in  Lexington  five  rods  south  of  the  house  of  Reuben  Reed, 
who  owned  land  adjoining  that  of  Joseph  Harrington  on  the  south 
side.1  This  gate  was  on  the  section  over  which  Lexington  had  made 
such  a  determined  fight,  and  it  appears  that  the  corporation  had  finally 
succeeded  in  getting  its  franchise  over  that  portion.  But  the  fight  was 
not  over  yet,  for  Lexington  citizens  entered  their  protest,  declaring  that 
the  road  had  not  been  built  as  required  by  law,  and  demanding  that  the 
gate  should  not  stand  in  its  location, 

which  place  is  part  of  an  ancient  highway  over  which  they  and  all  the  citizens  of  the 
Commonwealth  have  from  time  immemorial  had  a  right  to  pass  and  repass  free  of 
toll  or  any  toll  whatever.  And  on  which  they  conceive  by  law  no  toll  gate  can 
rightfully  be  erected. 

This  report  was  recommitted. 

By  this  diversion  from  public  to  private  ownership  of  the  road  in 
Lexington  and  the  "  great  road  "  in  West  Cambridge,  a  large  number 
of  people  living  in  Lexington  and  towns  beyond,  with  a  few  in  Woburn, 
were  cut  off  from  free  travel  over  their  natural  routes  to  the  Boston 
markets  and  obliged  to  travel  over  the  same  roads  but  to  pay  toll  there- 
for. Their  grievance  being  placed  before  the  legislature,  and  the  mani- 
fest injustice  shown,  an  act  was  secured  on  June  21,  181 1,  whereby  it 
was  provided  that  all  the  inhabitants  of  Lexington  and  five  of  Woburn, 
"  their  families  and  future  occupants,"  should  pass  free  of  toll  over  such 
portions  of  the  turnpike.  The  towns  beyond  Lexington  had  their  choice 
of  other  routes  and  were  not  included  in  the  benefits  of  this  act. 

Matters  being  thus  adjusted  the  road  received  its  legal  sanction  and 
proceeded  to  do  business.  By  the  act  of  March  6,  18 10,  authority  had 
been  given  to  extend  the  turnpike  from  Tyngsboro  meeting-house  to 
the  New  Hampshire  boundary,  where  it  connected  with  the  road  of 
the  Amherst  Turnpike  Corporation,  a  New  Hampshire  company  operat- 
ing a  road  from  the  Massachusetts  line  to  a  junction  with  the  Second 

1  Middlesex  County  Registry  of  Deeds. 
[154] 


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THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

New  Hampshire  in  Amherst.  The  Second  New  Hampshire,  incorpo- 
rated in  1799,  had  built  its  road  from  Amherst  to  the  "  lottery  bridge  " 
in  Claremont,  and  thus  improved  connections  were  had  all  the  way  from 
Boston  to  the  lower  Connecticut  Valley  towns  of  Vermont  and  New 
Hampshire. 

The  Middlesex  Turnpike  was  destined  to  be  of  less  use  a  century 
after  it  was  built  than  at  its  completion,  and  much  of  it  to-day  is  dis- 
continued. To  follow  the  old  road  at  the  present  time  one  would  start 
in  Cambridge  at  Mechanic  Square  and  pass  over  Hampshire  Street  and 
its  continuation  as  Beacon  Street. 

At  the  corner  of  Beacon  and  Washington  streets  a  tollgate  for- 
merly stood,  and  it  was  over  this  Washington  Street  that  the  Conti- 
nental troops  passed  on  their  way  to  fortify  Bunker  Hill  after  prayer 
for  their  success  had  been  made  by  the  president  of  Harvard  College. 

The  line  of  Beacon  Street  is  continued  in  Somerville  Avenue  and 
Massachusetts  Avenue  through  North  Cambridge  to  Arlington,  where 
the  successor  of  the  old  turnpike  passes  by  the  Soldiers'  Monument  and 
the  venerable  Cooper's  Tavern,  and  continues  as  the  main  street  of 
Arlington  to  the  "  Foot  of  the  Rocks  "  near  Arlington  Heights. 

At  the  "  Foot  of  the  Rocks  "  the  old  turnpike  left  the  "  Great  Road," 
and  as  Lowell  Street  and  Westminster  Street  it  is  perpetuated  to-day. 
A  nice  macadamized  road,  with  an  easy,  inviting  down  grade,  it  often 
lures  motorists  from  the  better  road  only  to  heartlessly  abandon  them 
some  miles  away  in  a  sandy  grass-grown  path.  For  a  few  miles  the 
road  is  smooth  and  well  kept,  but  about  the  time  that  Lexington's  juris- 
diction is  left  grass  appears  in  the  middle  of  the  track  and  the  bushes 
crowd  closer  to  the  sides  of  the  vehicle.  This  condition  prevails  through 
the  town  of  Burlington,  but  in  Billerica  the  old  road  assumes  an  air 
of  more  importance. 

Nuttings  Pond  is  crossed  on  a  causeway  which  divides  it  almost 
equally,  and  that  part  of  the  road  presents  a  busy  appearance  in  the 
summer,  especially  on  Sundays.  An  extensive  colony  of  camps  and 
bungalows  has  grown  up  around  the  pond,  and  the  old  turnpike  is  their 
only  avenue.  Over  it  the  campers  reach  the  little  station,  appropriately 
named  "  Turnpike,"  at  the  crossing  of  the  Billerica  Branch  of  the 
Boston  and  Maine  Railroad. 

A  quarter  of  a  mile  farther  and  the  road  comes  to  an  abrupt  end, 
a  fence  barring  the  way,  and  for  the  next  mile  the  old  turnpike  has 
reverted  to  private  interests,  except  for  the  easement  which  the  tele- 
phone company  has  improved  in  the  erection  of  its  line  of  poles.  By 
those  poles  and  the  path  followed  by  the  line  patrolmen  the  line  of  the 
turnpike  can  still  be  picked  out.  In  the  mile  thus  abandoned  occurs  the 
crossing  of  the  Concord  River,  and  the  abutments  and  approaches  of 
the  old  bridge  are  still  to  be  plainly  seen.  Approaching  the  old  bridge 
on  an  August  Sunday  in  1917,  the  author,  following  the  exact  line  of 
the  old  Middlesex  Turnpike,  walked  through  a  field  of  newly  cut  hay, 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

climbed  a  wall,  passed  through  a  cornfield,  then  crept  through  a  wire 
fence,  and  traversed  a  pasture  in  which  many  cows  were  peacefully 
grazing. 

For  the  next  four  miles  to  Chelmsford  the  road  is  still  open  for 
travel,  but  apparently  little  used.  At  one  of  the  Billerica  crossroads  the 
turnpike  formerly  passed  between  a  large  farmhouse  and  its  commo- 
dious barn,  but  the  present  proprietor  has  seen  fit  to  place  two  hen- 
houses directly  in  the  line  of  the  road,  and  such  travelers  as  use  the  road 
to-day  must  wind  in  and  out  to  avoid  the  encroachments. 

Manning's  Tavern  still  stands  on  the  turnpike  at  the  point  nearest 
to  Chelmsford  Center,  and  opposite  it  may  be  seen  a  little  house  which 
formerly  sheltered  the  toll  gatherer  and  his  family.  Beyond  the  toll- 
house the  road  again  disappears  and  for  over  two  miles  can  hardly  be 
traced  at  all.  No  help  is  had  here  from  the  telephone  company,  for  its 
poles  have  left  us,  bearing  off  to  the  right  on  the  way  to  Lowell.  Usu- 
ally a  road  abandoned  many  years  is  easily  detected,  but  this  section 
of  discontinued  highway  is  the  most  completely  obliterated  that  the 
author  has  ever  seen. 

From  North  Chelmsford  to  the  New  Hampshire  line,  along  the  west 
bank  of  the  Merrimac  River,  the  turnpike  has  again  assumed  importance 
as  one  of  the  Lowell  to  Nashua  boulevards. 

English's  "  History  of  Bedford  "  says  that  the  turnpike  enjoyed  a 
measure  of  success  for  a  while,  but  professional  teamsters  were  slow 
to  abandon  the  familiar  routes  and  discard  the  hospitality  of  the  long- 
established  taverns  of  Bedford.  No  costs  or  returns  were  filed  by  this 
corporation,  so  nothing  of  its  financial  affairs  is  known. 

In  1823  a  county  road  was  opened  between  Chelmsford  and  Bed- 
ford, which  at  once  diverted  a  great  deal  of  travel  from  the  turnpike, 
even  the  stagecoaches  forsaking  it  for  the  new  road.  That  road 
paralleled  the  turnpike  but  a  mile  distant  from  it,  and  later  was  the  cause 
of  the  complete  abandonment  of  the  portion  of  the  turnpike  between 
Chelmsford  and  North  Chelmsford. 

When  the  turnpike  was  built  Lowell  was  not  even  thought  of,  the 
system  of  locks  and  canals  having  originally  been  built  for  navigation 
facilities  and  not  devoted  to  the  production  of  power  until  1821,  but 
the  road  was  convenient  to  the  new  city  when  it  came  and  should  have 
received  a  generous  share  of  its  travel.  But  until  the  day  of  railroads 
the  Middlesex  Canal  served  the  mills  of  Lowell,  and  the  business  was 
not  great  enough  to  divide  between  turnpike  and  canal. 

The  portion  of  the  road  over  which  so  much  controversy  had  been 
had  in  Lexington  became  a  part  of  the  public  system  in  1 840  and  at  about 
the  same  time  portions  of  the  road  in  Chelmsford  and  Tyngsboro, 
interfering  with  the  location  of  the  Nashua  and  Lowell  Railroad,  were 
sold  to  that  company.  March  13,  1841,  upon  its  own  petition  the 
corporation  was  dissolved  by  the  legislature,  and  the  balance  of  its 
road  discontinued.  But  the  county  commissioners  a  year  later  revived 
[156] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF  MASSACHUSETTS 


the  roads  thus  abandoned  and  laid  them  out  as  county  highways.  In 
1846  the  Nashua  and  Lowell  Railroad  Company  was  relieved  from 
obligation  to  maintain  its  portion  of  the  road,  and  that  became  free  in 
some  places  and  was  discontinued  in  others. 

A  paper  read  before  the  Lowell  Historical  Society  says : 

at  the  time  of  the  opening  of  the  Boston  and  Lowell  Railroad,  there  were  from 
forty  to  forty-five  stages,  arriving  and  departing  daily  from  Lowell,  employing  from 
250  to  300  horses,  and  that  150  of  them  were  in  service  between  Lowell  and  Boston. 
The  freight  rates  were  from  $2.50  to  $4.00  a  ton,  the  stage  fare  $1.25. 


THE   WORCESTER   AND    FITZWILLIAM   TURNPIKE 

A  charter  was  granted  to  the  Worcester  and  Fitzwilliam  Turnpike 
Corporation  June  15,  1805,  to  build  a  road  from  Worcester,  through 
Holden,  Hubbardston,  Templeton,  to  the  line  of  Fitzwilliam,  New 
Hampshire.  This  project  lagged,  and  five  years  later  the  company  was 
granted  additional  time  for  building,  but  the  route  was  cut  down  so 
that  it  only  extended  from  the  Fitzwilliam  line  to  Baldwin's  Mills  in 
Templeton,  now  known  as  Baldwinsville.  Another  extension  was 
granted,  so  that  they  ultimately  had  until  June  15,  18 15,  to  complete 
the  road.  Construction  was  finally  completed  between  the  last-named 
points  at  a  cost  of  $4300,  or  a  cost  per  mile  of  about  $500.  The  loca- 
tion of  the  road  through  Winchendon  is  shown  on  the  1830  map  of  that 
town  at  the  state  house.  Worcester  County  records  show  the  public 
layout  through  Royalston,  Winchendon,  and  Templeton  in  1834. 

The  Norton  Turnpike  Corporation,  February  11,  1806,  planned  to 
build  from  Warren,  Rhode  Island,  through  Norton  and  Sharon  to  the 
old  Bay  Road  in  Canton,  over  which  it  would  have  connected  with  the 
Brush  Hill  Turnpike,  but  no  construction  was  ever  done.  Another 
company  received  a  charter  covering  a  portion  of  the  same  route  two 
years  later. 

THE   ASHBY   TURNPIKE 

Another  spoke  in  the  wheel-like  system  of  turnpikes  which  radiated 
from  Boston  was  the  road  of  the  Ashby  Turnpike  Corporation,  the 
charter  for  which  was  granted  also  on  the  eleventh  of  February,  1806. 
This  road  started  at  the  line  between  Ashburnham,  Massachusetts,  and 
New  Ipswich,  New  Hampshire,  and  crossed  the  northeast  corner  of 
Ashburnham  into  Ashby,  crossing  that  town  easterly  about  in  the  middle 
and  passing  through  Ashby  Center  and  West  Townsend  to  Townsend 
Plain,  where  it  joined  the  road  of  the  Third  New  Hampshire  at  the 
end  thereof.  Townsend  must  have  been  fortunate  in  its  roads  in  its 
eastern  part,  for  both  the  Third  New  Hampshire  and  the  Ashby  seem 
to  have  been  satisfied  to  terminate  their  roads  at  Townsend  Center, 
leaving  their  patrons  to  continue  their  journeys  over  the  county  road. 

[i57] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

At  the  westerly  end  the  Ashby  seems  to  have  been  pointing  toward 
Keene,  New  Hampshire,  but  no  turnpike  franchise  has  been  found  in 
that  state  which  would  complete  the  connection. 

Petitions  for  locating  committees  were  made  in  Worcester  and 
Middlesex  counties  in  September,  1806,  and  in  February,  1807,  the  lay- 
out was  reported  and  approved.  The  land  damages  in  Middlesex  were 
divided  among  twenty  owners  and  totaled  $1475,  which  was  about  $155 
a  mile.  The  road  was  completed  in  the  summer  of  18 10  and  approval 
was  asked  in  September  of  that  year.  Formal  acceptance  was  had  in 
December,  and  the  corporation  was  allowed  to  transact  business,  the 
tollgate  being  located  in  Ashby,  "  near  the  old  county  road,  and  a  little 
to  the  northward  of  the  house  of  Jonas  Hodgman." 

The  toll  gatherer  continued  to  discharge  his  duties  for  twenty-three 
years,  until  the  turnpike  became  free  in  1833. 

THE   WORCESTER   AND    STAFFORD   TURNPIKE 

Direct  through  communication  between  Worcester  and  Hartford 
was  provided  by  the  Worcester  and  Stafford  Turnpike  in  Massachu- 
setts, connecting  at  the  state  line  with  the  Stafford  Pool  Turnpike,  which 
went  as  far  as  the  courthouse  in  Tolland,  and  thence  over  the  Hartford 
and  Tolland  Turnpike,  which  led  from  the  state  house  in  Hartford 
to  the  courthouse  in  Tolland.  The  Massachusetts  corporation  received 
its  charter  February  15,  1806,  but,  like  other  enterprises  at  that  time, 
found  the  financing  a  slow  process.  The  road  followed  the  straight-line 
principle  in  its  original  layout,  and  we  find  it  was  located  over  such  a 
steep  hill  in  Sturbridge  that,  before  building  the  road,  the  company  saw 
fit  to  petition  the  legislature  for  permission  to  so  change  the  route  as  to 
pass  around  the  objectionable  hill.  This  was  granted  them  in  June, 
1809. 

In  1 8 10  the  road  was  completed  and  accepted  by  the  officials  of 
Worcester  County,  and  by  the  court  of  sessions  of  Hampshire  County 
in  behalf  of  the  towns  in  Hampden  County.  Some  delay  occurred  in 
consequence  of  the  death  of  one  of  the  committee  whose  duty  it  was  to 
view  and  approve  the  road,  objection  being  raised  to  the  legality  of 
proceedings  by  the  rest  of  the  committee  without  him;  but  the  matter 
was  cleared  by  legislative  action  March  6,  18 10,  which  confirmed  the 
doings  of  the  diminished  committee,  filled  the  vacancy,  and  allowed  the 
work  to  be  completed. 

The  road  commenced  at  a  point  on  "  the  post  road  in  the  town  of 
Worcester,"  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  beyond  the  westerly  end  of  the 
present  Main  Street,  and  led  through  Leicester,  about  a  quarter  of  a 
mile  from  the  Auburn  line,  to  Rochdale;  thence  to  Charlton  City,  where 
a  gate  was  placed;  thence  across  the  central  part  of  Sturbridge,  and 
diagonally  across  Holland  to  the  boundary  line  between  that  town  and 
South  Brimfield,  which  it  followed  for  about  a  mile.  Then  it  made  a 
[1.58] 


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THE   TURNPIKES    OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

short  cut  across  the  southeast  corner  of  South  Brimfield,  and  in  about 
five  eighths  of  a  mile  reached  the  Connecticut  line.  South  Brimfield 
will  not  be  found  on  the  maps  of  to-day,  as  its  name  was  changed  to 
Wales  in  1828. 

No  returns  were  ever  made  by  this  corporation  and  no  items  con- 
cerning it  have  been  found  in  local  histories,  but  that  it  was  an  im- 
portant road  serving  a  prosperous  territory  is  plainly  evident.  Much 
of  the  travel  over  the  "  northern  route  "  from  Boston  to  New  York 
must  have  been  diverted  from  the  line  over  the  First  Massachusetts  to 
this  of  the  Worcester  and  Stafford,  as  the  new  route  was  much  more 
direct  between  Worcester  and  Hartford  than  by  way  of  Springfield. 

The  turnpike  was  thrown  open  in  Worcester  County  in  1834  and 
in  Hampden  County  in  October,  1835.  It  is  known  to-day  in  Leicester 
as  Stafford  Street,  and  in  the  other  towns  it  seems  to  go  by  the  name 
of  "  Old  Turnpike."  Portions  were  discontinued  in  Sturbridge  in  1850 
and  in  1868,  and  in  Charlton  in  1851,  but  these  appear  to  have  been 
minor  changes,  some  due,  no  doubt,  to  improvements  in  railroad 
crossings. 

THE    PLUM    ISLAND   TURNPIKE 

An  informal  organization  was  made  in  1804  in  Newburyport  by 
certain  gentlemen  who  had  conceived  the  idea  of  developing  a  summer 
resort  on  Plum  Island,  in  connection  with  which  they  proposed  to  build 
a  turnpike  between  the  two  places.  A  committee,  chosen  to  estimate  the 
cost  of  such  work,  reported  so  favorably  that  an  application  was  duly 
made  for  a  charter,  which  was  granted  on  the  twenty-fourth  of  February, 
1806,  incorporating  the  Plum  Island  Turnpike  and  Bridge  Corpora- 
tion. This  company  was  to  be  allowed  to  build  its  road  from  Rolf's 
Lane,  now  Ocean  Avenue,  to  a  point  on  Plum  Island  about  one  mile 
north  of  Sandy  Beach.  Following  a  careful  survey  the  road  was  built 
in  the  summer  of  1806,  and  continued  its  existence  as  a  chartered  invest- 
ment for  a  period  of  ninety-nine  years,  making  it  the  longest-lived  turn- 
pike in  Massachusetts,  and  exceeded  in  longevity  only  by  the  Peru 
Turnpike  in  Vermont. 

Currier's  "History  of  Newburyport  "  devotes  quite  a  little  space 
to  this  road,  and  we  learn  further  from  it  that  the  company  continued 
its  operations  in  1807  by  building  a  hotel  on  the  island,  thus  anticipating 
the  policy  put  into  effect  a  century  later  by  the  electric-car  lines,  which 
established  places  of  amusement  at  the  ends  of  their  routes  to  induce 
additional  riding. 

No  returns  were  filed  by  this  company  and  its  monetary  affairs  are 
wrapped  in  mystery.  Its  career  was  uneventful  until  1839,  when  a 
severe  storm  washed  away  a  portion  of  the  road  and  badly  damaged 
the  bridge.  About  this  time  the  United  States  authorities  constructed  a 
breakwater  in  connection  with  its  improvements  of  Newburyport  Harbor, 

[i59] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

in  consequence  of  which,  in  the  winter  of  1840,  the  ice  was  backed  up 
against  the  bridge,  carrying  nearly  all  of  it  away.  Consequently  a 
petition  for  relief  was  made  to  Congress,  which  on  June  4,  1842,  passed 
the  "  Act  for  the  relief  of  the  Plum  Island  Bridge  and  Turnpike  Com- 
pany," giving  the  corporation  eight  thousand  dollars  in  compensation. 

For  many  years  the  corporation  was  practically  extinct,  but  in  1884 
the  prospects  seemed  to  justify  further  action,  and  business  was  re- 
sumed. In  1887  the  property  and  rights  were  sold  to  a  company  which 
desired  to  operate  a  horse  railway  over  the  road,  and  that  form  of 
transportation  continued  until  1894,  when  the  horses  gave  place  to  the 
buzzing  trolley. 

By  legislative  act  of  May,  1905,  the  county  commissioners  were 
required  to  lay  out  the  Plum  Island  Turnpike  as  a  county  road,  not 
over  six  thousand  dollars  to  be  paid  the  company  as  damages.  Essex 
County  records  show  the  finish  of  the  old  road  on  July  22,  1905,  one 
hundred  and  one  years  after  the  project  was  first  agreed  upon  by  the 
enterprising  Newburyport  gentlemen. 

THE   WORCESTER   TURNPIKE 

Next,  on  March  7,  1806,  came  the  Worcester  Turnpike  Corpora- 
tion with  a  franchise  to  build  "  from  Roxbury  to  Worcester." 

In  the  early  days  of  the  Massachusetts  Bay  Colony  there  was  but  one 
road  leading  out  of  Boston,  —  the  original  of  Washington  Street,  over 
the  Neck.  As  we  learned  in  connection  with  Judge  Sewall's  milestones, 
at  points  between  two  and  three  miles  from  the  old  Boston  Town  House 
five  roads  radiated  and  led  to  various  adjoining  towns.  One  of  these, 
the  Cambridge  Road,  had  from  the  earliest  days  been  a  traveled  path, 
forming  the  eastern  end  of  the  old  Connecticut  Path;  and  part  of  this, 
comprising  what  is  now  Roxbury  and  Tremont  streets  and  Huntington 
Avenue  to  the  Parkway  near  the  Brookline  boundary,  was  formally 
laid  out  as  a  public  highway  January  19,  1662.  The  portion  lying  be- 
yond Muddy  River  had  been  publicly  dedicated  some  five  years  earlier. 

The  portion  of  this  "  ancient  Highway  "  between  the  present  Dudley 
Street  Station  of  the  Boston  Elevated  Railway  and  Brookline  Village 
was  monopolized  by  the  Worcester  Turnpike  Corporation  when  its 
road  was  located  in  1808,  and  the  long-established  free  highway  became 
a  part  of  the  privately  owned  toll  road.  In  a  paper  presented  to  the 
Brookline  Historical  Society,1  the  reader  told  of  the  peregrinations  of 
the  locating  committee,  which  started  from  the  Boston  end  and  stopped 
for  rest  and  refreshment  at  the  Punch  Bowl  Tavern  in  Brookline.  So 
far  they  had  followed  the  old  road,  apparently  lacking  the  courage  to 
locate  a  road  in  a  new  and  untried  place;  but  after  their  reception  at 
the  tavern  fresh  courage  arose,  and  thenceforth  they  paid  no  attention 
to  old  roads,  but  laid  their  compass  for  the  longest  possible  straight 

1  December  26,  1906,  "The  Old  Worcester  Turnpike,"  by  Edward  W.  Baker. 
[160] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

lines.  So  the  turnpike  left  the  "  ancient  highway  "  at  what  is  now 
Brookline  Village  and  blazed  a  new  path  through  the  woods  straight 
to  Mitchell's  Tavern  in  Newton,  then  across  the  Charles  River  "  near 
General  Eliot's  mills,"  now  Newton  Upper  Falls,  near  the  famous  Echo 
Bridge  of  the  Boston  waterworks;  thence  across  the  town  of  Welles- 
ley,  which  was  a  part  of  Needham  then,  to  the  "  Neck  of  the  Ponds," 
which  was  the  narrow  part  of  Lake  Cochituate  in  Natick;  thence  through 
Framingham,  Southboro,  Westboro,  and  Shrewsbury  to  Shrewsbury 
Pond,  later  known  as  Lake  Quinsigamond,  and  then  "to  the  street  in 
Worcester  near  the  courthouse." 

There  were  ancient  milestones  on  the  old  road  which  was  thus  ap- 
propriated for  turnpike  purposes,  two  of  which  fell  within  the  limits 
thus  liable  to  toll.  The  first  of  these,  the  three-mile  stone,  has  dis- 
appeared from  its  place  on  Roxbury  Street,  just  beyond  Eliot  Square, 
but  the  four-mile  stone  may  still  be  seen,  directly  opposite  its  original 
position,  embedded  in  the  wall  surrounding  the  grounds  of  the  House 
of  the  Good  Shepherd,  where  it  was  set  with  the  consent  of  the  church 
authorities,  at  the  solicitation  of  Mr.  Irwin  C.  Cromack  of  the  Boston 
Street  Department.  These  were  Paul  Dudley  stones,  as  attested  by 
the  initials  "PD"  on  the  one  thus  preserved.  The  turnpike  itself  was 
marked  off  in  this  manner  in  1810,  the  measurements  starting  from  the 
Boston  boundary  line.  The  first  of  the  later  ones  may  be  observed  near 
Roxbury  Crossing,  set  in  the  wall  in  front  of  a  schoolhouse.  It  is 
marked: 

To  Boston 

Line     1   M 

1810 

Another  stands  in  a  location  to  which  it  was  recently  moved  for  preser- 
vation —  at  the  corner  of  Boylston  and  Warren  streets  in  Brookline. 

Smith,  in  the  preparation  of  his  "  History  of  Newton,"  seems  to  have 
had  access  to  first-hand  information  regarding  this  corporation,  for  he 
tells  us  that  the  first  meeting  of  the  stockholders  was  held  in  Concert 
Hall,  on  the  corner  of  Court  and  Hanover  streets  in  Boston,  on  Octo- 
ber 30,  1806.  The  capital  stock  was  divided  into  six  hundred  shares 
of  a  par  value  of  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  each,  making  an  invest- 
ment of  $150,000  to  build  forty  miles  of  road,  which  allowed  about 
$3750  a  mile.  No  further  figures  are  available,  for  the  company  never 
filed  any  returns  with  the  secretary  of  state,  as  it  should  have  done. 
Smith  also  says  that  sixteen  shares  were  taken  by  Newton  men,  and 
that  there  were  few  dividends,  none  amounting  to  six  per  cent. 

The  fallacy  of  straight-line  locations  was  thus  observed  by  Lincoln 
in  his  "  History  of  Worcester  " : 

On  this  plan  [straight  line]  the  turnpike  to  Boston,  going  out  from  the  north 
end  of  the  village,  went  through  a  considerable  eminence  by  a  deep  cutting,  passed  a 
deep  valley  on  a  lofty  embankment,  ascended  the  steep  slope  of  Millstone  Hill, 
crossed  Quinsigamond  by  a  floating  bridge,  and  climbed  to  some  of  the  highest  ele- 

[161] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

vations  of  the  country  it  traversed;  when  an  inconsiderable  circuit  would  have  fur- 
nished a  better  and  less  costly  route. 

An  act  passed  by  the  general  court  March  3,  1809,  provided  for 
changing  the  location  of  certain  gates  in  order  to  check  the  custom  of 
"  shunpiking  "  and  also  to  protect  the  public  from  paying  full  tolls  when 
it  used  the  turnpike  for  only  a  part  of  the  journey.  The  preamble  is 
a  dissertation  on  the  "  shunpike,"  which  is  worth  reproducing. 

WHEREAS  the  said  Worcester  Turnpike  Road,  as  the  same  is  now  located  and 
made,  makes  such  intersections  of  various  old  roads,  over  which  the  same  crosses 
and  passes,  as  to  render  it  easy  at  all  times  for  persons  to  travel  on  the  same  a  greater 
part  of  the  way,  and  by  turning  off  on  said  old  roads,  near  the  several  places  assigned 
to  receive  toll,  to  avoid  the  payment  of  the  same;  and  whereas  there  are  several  por- 
tions of  said  Turnpike  Road,  over  which  there  would  be  a  great  travel,  provided  the 
said  corporation  were  authorized  to  erect  gates,  subdividing  the  toll,  established  in 
and  by  their  act  of  incorporation,  which  would  be  a  great  saving  and  convenience  to 
many  people  who  wish  to  travel  on  certain  portions  of  said  turnpike  if  it  could  be 
done  without  paying  a  full  toll.  .  .  . 

Consequently  the  justices  of  the  court  of  common  pleas  were  author- 
ized to  make  such  changes  in  the  gates,  and  signboards  giving  the  sub- 
divided rates  were  to  be  erected. 

Many  interesting  taverns  stood  on  the  line  of  the  Worcester  Turn- 
pike. The  Punch  Bowl  Tavern,  which  stood  on  what  is  now  the  corner 
of  Washington  and  Pearl  streets  in  Brookline,  was  a  famous  place  of 
resort  for  gay  parties  from  the  surrounding  towns,  and  even  from 
Boston,  and  it  was  much  frequented  by  the  British  officers  before  the 
Revolution.     Drake,  in  his  "  The  Town  of  Roxbury,"  thus  describes  it: 

It  was  of  a  yellowish  color,  and  had  a  seat  running  along  the  front  under  an 
overhanging  projection  of  a  part  of  the  second  story,  where  loungers  congregated 
to  discuss  the  news  of  the  day.  In  front  and  near  each  end  were  large  elm  trees. 
Under  the  westerly  one  stood  a  pump.  The  ancient  sign,  suspended  from  a  high 
red  post,  had  for  its  design  a  huge  bowl  and  ladle,  overhung  by  a  lemon  tree  laden 
with  fruit,  some  of  which  having  fallen  to  the  ground,  lay  around  the  bowl.  This 
sign,  known  throughout  New  England,  gave  its  name  to  the  tavern  and  village. 

Originally  it  was  a  two-story,  hipped-roof  house,  and  many  additions 
were  made  from  time  to  time  by  the  purchase  of  old  houses  in  Boston 
and  vicinity,  moving  them  to  the  Punch  Bowl  and  tacking  them  on  to 
those  previously  assembled.  Consequently  the  old  house  was  a  curious 
medley  of  rooms  of  all  sorts  and  sizes,  one  of  which  was  a  large  dancing 
hall.  Opened  as  a  public  house  prior  to  1740,  the  Punch  Bowl  Tavern 
served  the  public  for  over  one  hundred  years,  being  torn  down  in  1839. 

The  Richards  Tavern,  built  about  1770,1  faced  Heath  Street  near 
where  the  turnpike  crossed  the  Newton-Brookline  boundary,  and  the 
turnpike  was  built  directly  behind  it,  so  that  became  a  turnpike  tavern 
and  was  conducted  as  such  until  1830. 

The  Mitchell  Tavern  stood  on  the  turnpike  in  Newton  Highlands 

1  "The  Old  Worcester  Turnpike,"  Baker. 
[162] 


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Plate  XLV — Northerly  End,  Stoughton  Turnpike 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

on  the  present  corner  of  Center  Street.  The  Cook  Tavern  stood  until 
the  winter  of  19 15-16  on  the  corner  where  Eliot  and  Woodward  streets 
come  together  at  the  turnpike,  and  upon  its  demolition  yielded  an  in- 
teresting collection  of  old  coins  and  pewter  ware,  when  its  inner  spaces 
were  revealed.  Prior  to  the  widening  of  the  street  and  the  building 
of  the  Boston  and  Worcester  trolley  line,  it  was  a  fine  old  house,  with 
beautiful  trees  draping  over  it  and  surrounded  by  lilac  hedges,  as  shown 
in  the  picture  which  we  reproduce. 

Another  old  tavern  stood  near  the  Charles  River  at  the  Upper  Falls, 
and  until  the  coming  of  the  railway,  about  1900,  had  before  it  a  hand- 
some sycamore  in  which  was  still  planted  the  iron  crane  from  which  the 
sign  of  the  tavern  swung. 

In  Westboro  rest  and  refreshment  were  to  be  had  at  Forbush's 
Tavern,  which  stood  on  the  corner  of  the  street  now  called  Lyman. 
This  house  had  long  been  built  when  the  turnpike  came,  but  it  had 
the  good  fortune  to  be  located  directly  on  the  line  of  the  new  road,  so 
had  no  difficulty  in  adapting  itself  to  the  new  conditions. 

One  tollgate  was  located  in  the  rear  of  the  Richards  Tavern  near  the 
Brookline-Newton  line,  and  another  was  in  Newton  Upper  Falls,  sit- 
uated in  a  hollow  between  the  two  taverns  which  were  about  three 
quarters  of  a  mile  apart.  A  marsh  and  quicksand  two  hundred  feet 
east  of  the  gate  obliged  travelers  to  stay  in  the  road,  and  prevented  the 
much-practiced  art  of  "  shunpiking."  The  old  tollhouse  at  this  gate 
stood  for  many  years  on  the  bank  above  the  street,  where  it  was  left 
by  the  grading  incident  to  the  trolley  construction.  Another  tollgate 
stood  in  Needham,  now  Wellesley,  just  east  of  Blossom  Street,  accord- 
ing to  Clark's  "  History  of  Needham." 

The  operation  of  a  toll  road  over  the  ancient  highway  in  Roxbury 
could  not  have  been  remunerative,  especially  over  the  section  between 
Wait's  Mills,  now  called  Roxbury  Crossing,  because  twenty  years  ago 
a  grade  crossing  of  the  railroad  existed  there,  and  the  easterly  end  of 
the  turnpike.  There  must  have  been  a  great  deal  of  short-distance 
travel  over  parts  of  that  section,  paying  no  toll  at  all  but  wearing  out 
the  road  which  the  corporation  was  bound  to  repair.  In  18 10  a 
turnpike  charter  was  granted  to  the  Boston  Neck  Turnpike  Corpora- 
tion, which  it  seems  must  have  been  sought  in  the  interest  of  the  Worces- 
ter Turnpike  Corporation,  as  the  construction  of  that  road  would  have 
given  the  latter  company  a  better  connection  with  the  road  leading  into 
Boston.  But  the  corporation  was  held  strictly  to  its  obligations  to 
maintain  the  ancient  highway  until  the  opening  of  the  Punch  Bowl  Road 
of  the  Boston  and  Roxbury  Mill  Corporation.  That  road  connected 
the  Worcester  Turnpike  at  the  Punch  Bowl  Tavern  with  the  westerly 
end  of  the  road  over  the  Mill  Dam,  and  was  opened  for  travel  in  1821. 
By  following  this  new  route,  over  a  mile  was  saved  on  the  journey  into 
Boston,  and  it  can  readily  be  seen  that  the  operation  of  the  ancient 
highway  became  still  more  a  "  labor  of  love,"  and  we  are  not  surprised 

[163] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

that  the  corporation  now  made  earnest  efforts  to  be  rid  of  the  burden. 
But  not  until  1826  did  it  succeed  when,  on  February  15,  an  act  was 
passed  relieving  the  corporation  of  all  of  the  road  east  of  what  is  now 
Brookline  Village,  providing  that  it  paid  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars 
to  the  town  of  Roxbury  to  recompense  that  town  for  assuming  the  road. 
The   act  declared  that  the   easterly  terminus   of  the   turnpike   should 


Courtesy  of  Edward  W.  Baker 
'THE  ARCH  IN  brookline' 


thenceforth  be  at  "  the  arch  in  Brookline."  The  arch  spanned  the 
turnpike  where  it  left  the  old  road  and  entered  upon  the  new  location. 
Overhead  the  traveler  westward  bound  read  "Worcester  18 10  40 
Miles."  Just  why  this  arch  should  have  been  built  at  this  point,  or 
why  it  should  have  been  built  anywhere,  is  hard  to  determine.  Its  loca- 
tion marked  the  dividing  line  between  the  new  road  which  the  corpora- 
tion built,  and  the  ancient  highway  which  it  had  appropriated,  and  it 
may  be  that  the  corporation,  exasperated  at  the  continual  protests  and 
faultfinding  which  always  followed  the  passing  of  an  old  road  into  a 
turnpike,  erected  this  arch  to  mark  the  beginning  of  the  section  on  which 
it  was  morally  as  well  as  legally  entitled  to  collect  toll. 

The  "  ancient  highway  "  at  once  became  the  Washington  Street  of 
Roxbury.  In  1868  the  name  of  part  was  changed  to  Tremont  Street; 
in  1874  another  portion  was  named  Roxbury  Street;  and  in  1895  the 
end  at  the  Brookline  boundary  was  called  Huntington  Avenue. 

Lake  Quinsigamond,  then  called  Long  Pond,  stretched  its  length 
about  equally  on  each  side  of  the  air  line  which  the  turnpike  surveyors 
felt  obliged  to  follow  and  offered  a  serious  engineering  problem.  The 
water  was  over  five  hundred  feet  wide  at  the  desired  crossing  and  from 
fifty  to  seventy  feet  in  depth,  and  the  early  bridge  builders,  having  no 
other  material  than  wood,  might  have  been  excused  for  pronouncing 
[164] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   MASSACHUSETTS 


the  task  impossible.  But  turnpike  builders  overcame  all  obstacles  when 
a  straight  line  was  to  be  attained,  and  a  floating  bridge  was  designed. 
The  first  was  a  short-lived  structure,  lasting  only  a  few  years.  It  was 
made  of  two  or  three  tiers  of  round  timber  laid  lengthwise  and  then 
crosswise,  and  then  overlaid  with  a  course  of  hewn  timber  covered 
with  plank  and  fastened  to  large  abutments  at  the  shores.  The  cost  of 
this  bridge  was  about  nine  thousand  dollars,  and  it  was  soon  found  to 
be  too  weak  for  safety,  and  work  was  started  on  a  much  more  ambitious 
structure. 

Nine  piers  were  sunk  in  the  lake,  on  the  line  of  the  bridge,  about 
thirty  feet  apart,  the  center  one  being  sixty  feet  square  and  the  others 
sixty  by  thirty..  These  piers  were  constructed  separately  in  cob-house 
fashion.  The  first  course  was  laid  on  the  surface  of  the  water  above 
its  ultimate  resting  place,  and  consisted  of  a  mat  of  heavy  timbers 
parallel  to  each  other  and  covering  a  space  the  size  of  the  pier.  The 
second  course  was  then  laid  crosswise  on  the  first,  each  intersection  being 
pinned  by  wooden  treenails,  and  so  on,  the  increasing  weight  causing  the 
structure  to  sink  gradually  until  the  first  course  of  timbers  had  found 
its  resting  place  on  the  bottom  of  the  lake,  with  several  courses  above 
the  surface.  It  seems  like  a  miracle  that  such  construction  remained 
perpendicular  until  the  bottom  was  reached,  but  all  the  piers  did  so, 
and  connections  were  made  from  one  to  the  other  by  stringers  covered 
with  planking  on  which  a  heavy  bed  of  gravel  was  placed. 

On  account  of  the  varying  depth  of  mud  on  the  bottom  of  the  pond, 
the  piers  settled  unequally  and  rapidly  fell  out  of  plumb.  The  buoyancy 
of  the  material  caused  such  strains  that  many  of  the  joints  opened  and 
timbers  started  from  their  fastenings.  Efforts  to  remedy  the  trouble 
by  piling  on  heavier  loadings  of  gravel  only  hastened  the  end,  and  on 
the  morning  of  September  19,  18 17,  while  the  workmen  were  at  break- 
fast, the  buoyant  piers  tipped  and  broke  apart,  the  uncompleted  bridge 
fell  in  all  directions,  and  the  surface  of  the  lake  was  covered  with 
the  wreckage.  That  fifty-four  thousand  feet  of  lumber  had  been  used 
and  the  cost  ran  as  high  as  thirteen  thousand  dollars  is  learned  from  a 
history  of  Shrewsbury,  published  in  1826  by  Andrew  H.  Ward. 

In  the  spring  of  18 18  another  floating  bridge  which  had  been  built 
on  the  ice  along  the  west  shore  was  towed  into  place.  This  bridge  cost 
about  six  thousand  dollars  and,  in  1826,  was  still  well  answering  the 
purpose. 

Before  the  day  of  the  railroad  the  old  turnpike  was  ready  to  give 
up  the  struggle.  Four  and  a  half  years  before  the  opening  of  the 
Boston  and  Worcester  Railroad,  the  corporation  petitioned  that  its  road 
between  Kimball's  Tavern  in  Needham  and  the  Punch  Bowl  Tavern  in 
Brookline  might  be  taken  off  its  hands;  and  a  year  later  in  January, 
1833,  Middlesex  County  complied  with  the  request  as  far  as  its  juris- 
diction extended.  Norfolk  County  also  made  the  road  free,  except  a 
portion  in  Needham  adjacent  to  Newton  Upper  Falls. 

[165] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

The  corporation  was  dissolved  by  the  legislature  March  10,  1841, 
and  all  of  its  road  not  previously  thrown  open  was  discontinued.  Per- 
mission was  given  to  Worcester  and  Shrewsbury,  if  they  took  over  the 
bridge  crossing  Lake  Quinsigamond,  to  collect  tolls  thereon  under  super- 
vision of  the  county  commissioners,  but  whether  they  did  or  not  has  not 
been  ascertained. 

Thus  were  left  considerable  sections  of  the  old  road  which  had  no 
standing  whatever,  being  discontinued  as  highways.  The  inhabitants 
of  Framingham,  in  January,  1843,  petitioned  the  county  commissioners 
for  a  public  dedication  of  the  portion  of  the  turnpike  in  their  town,  and 
in  September  of  that  year  the  westerly  seven  hundred  and  two  rods  of 
the  Framingham  portion  became  a  county  road.  The  Natick  section 
had  been  so  treated  the  year  before  and  the  short  section  remaining  at 
Newton  Upper  Falls  received  the  same  degree  in  1843  and  1844. 
Worcester  County  took  a  hand  in  1845  and  laid  out  the  road  from 
Worcester  to  Lake  Quinsigamond. 

The  old  Worcester  Turnpike  is  known  to-day  as  Boylston  Street  in 
Brookline  and  Newton;  as  Worcester  Street  in  Wellesley  and  Natick; 
as  Eastern  Avenue  in  Framingham;  as  Belmont  Street  in  Westboro  and 
Worcester;  while  Southboro  and  Shrewsbury  seem  to  know  it  by  the 
name  of  Old  Turnpike.  For  much  of  its  length  it  is  followed  by  the 
cars  of  the  Boston  and  Worcester  Street  Railway. 

The  passion  for  straight  lines  led  this  road  apart  from  the  previously 
beaten  paths  and  it  passed  through  no  centers  except  that  of  Framing- 
ham. The  prevailing  impression  at  that  time  regarding  turnpikes  is 
echoed  in  the  diary,  kept  by  the  author's  grandmother  during  a  journey 
which  she'  took  in  1829,  the  return  being  made  over  this  road  from 
Worcester  to  Boston.  She  wrote:  "We  rode  principally  on  the  turn- 
pike and  did  not  see  many  villages." 


THE    HOUSATONIC    RIVER   TURNPIKE 

Another  project  for  connecting  Hartford  with  the  Hudson  Valley 
was  launched  when  the  Housatonic  River  Turnpike  Corporation  was 
incorporated  March  7,  1806.  The  road  of  this  corporation  connected 
with  the  road  of  a  New  York  company,  which  led  to  Albany,  at  the 
state  boundary  near  the  northwest  corner  of  West  Stockbridge,  and 
ran  through  West  Stockbridge  and  Stockbridge  to  Stockbridge  Center, 
whence  it  followed  up  the  valley  of  the  Housatonic  River  to  the  present 
East  Lee  Village,  where  it  joined  the  road  of  the  Tenth  Massachusetts 
Corporation. 

.  The  directors  promptly  entered  petition  with  the  Berkshire  county 
court  for  a  location  for  their  road  and  a  committee  was  at  once  ap- 
pointed, but  progress  was  slow.  In  1808  the  land  question  was  sub- 
mitted to  a  jury,  and  a  year  later  the  awards  were  made.  In  1809,  after 
[166] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 


an  alteration  in  the  layout,  the  road  was  completed,  accepted,  and  the 
location  of  the  gates  determined. 

The  cost  of  the  turnpike  was  given  to  the  secretary  of  state  as 
$16,647,  which  gives  a  proportion  per  mile  of  about  $1260.  A  return 
was  made  in  the  year  1818,  only,  which  showed  a  net  loss  of  $71.29. 
That  the  receipts  were  not  satisfactory  to  the  investors  is  plain  from 
the  fact  that  in  1815  an  act  was  secured  from  the  legislature,  allowing 
the  collection  of  full  tolls  instead  of  fractional  at  the  gate  in  Lee.  That 
proving  unsatisfactory,  a  general  revision  of  gates  and  tolls  was  made 
by  the  act  passed  the  next  year.  Two  half-gates  in  West  Stockbridge 
were  moved  so  as  to  permit  the  erection  of  an  additional  half-gate  in 
that  town,  which  was  to  be  "  east  of  the  road  leading  from  Great  Bar- 
rington  to  the  village  of  West  Stockbridge."  A  new  scale  of  collections 
at  the  Lee  gate  was  given  at  length  in  the  act,  by  which  the  former  status 
of  a  half-gate  was  restored,  although  the  allowed  tolls  became  about 
twenty-five  per  cent  higher  than  commonly  authorized. 

The  "  History  of  the  County  of  Berkshire,"  to  which  we  have  often 
referred,  speaks  of  this  turnpike  as,  by  means  of  its  connections,  open- 
ing intercourse  with  Springfield,  and  states  that  it  is  a  road  "  of  great 
and  increasing  travel." 

Legislative  permission  was  given  in  1808  for  a  revision  of  the  loca- 
tion, but  it  was  expressly  stated  that  no  change  was  to  be  made  at  either 
end  of  the  layout  already  made.  Nevertheless  the  committee  appointed 
for  that  purpose  did  make  a  change  in  the  western  end,  at  the  New  York 
line,  and  the  court  approved  the  same,  and  a  compliant  legislature,  the 
next  year,  accepted  the  action  and  confirmed  it. 

E.  Kingsley  entered  a  petition  in  1837,  in  consequence  of  which  the 
gates  were  ordered  to  be  opened,  probably  until  certain  repairs  had  been 
made  on  the  road.  An  act  passed  February  19,  1841,  allowed  the 
Berkshire  county  commissioners  to  throw  open  the  western  end  of  the 
road,  but  apparently  they  were  not  particularly  keen  to  do  this  as  no 
record  of  such  action  has  been  found,  a  suggestion  which  gains  support 
when  we  read  that  in  September,  1842,  the  commissioners  dismissed 
a  petition  made  by  the  corporation  to  have  its  road  discontinued.  In 
July,  1 85 1,  the  company  renewed  its  effort  to  get  rid  of  its  road,  but 
evidently  without  success,  for  we  find  another  petition  for  a  public  lay- 
out made  in  July,  1853.  As  we  do  not  find  the  road  on  the  records 
again  we  conclude  that  the  last  is  the  date  on  which  the  road  finally 
became  free. 

The  indications  are  that  the  old  road  was  the  original  Albany  Street 
and  Stockbridge  Street  in  West  Stockbridge,  but  no  name  seems  to 
follow  it  over  the  rest  of  its  meanderings. 

A  road  having  the  precipitous  Stockbridge  and  Deonkook  Moun- 
tains across  its  path  could  not  expect  to  adhere  to  the  straight-line  prin- 
ciple, and  it  is  refreshing  to  find  this  turnpike  winding  in  and  out  with 
some  regard  to  resulting  grades. 

[167] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


THE   ALFORD   AND    EGREMONT   TURNPIKE 

The  Alford  and  Egremont  Turnpike  Corporation,  March  13,  1806, 
was  organized  to  build  a  road  leading  from  the  Twelfth  Massachusetts 
Turnpike  at  South  Egremont  Village,  northwesterly  across  the  towns 
of  Egremont  and  Alford  to  a  connection  with  the  New  York  corpora- 
tion's Hillsdale  and  Chatham  Turnpike  at  the  state  line,  passing  through 
the  villages  of  Egremont  Plain  and  North  Egremont. 

By  a  condition  in  its  charter  the  company  was  required  to  divide  with 
the  Twelfth  Massachusetts  all  tolls  collected  in  the  town  of  Alford,  the 
Twelfth  to  have  one  fifth.  This  condition  is  hard  to  understand  as  the 
new  road  was  to  open  a  territory  in  which  the  Twelfth  had  not  oper- 
ated, the  nearest  point  in  which  was  fully  three  and  a  half  miles  from 
any  point  on  the  road  of  the  Twelfth,  and,  at  this  distance  it  looks  like 
the  price  paid  by  the  new  venture  to  remove  opposition  by  the  old.  But 
the  onerous  condition  was  cleverly  evaded  before  the  opening  of  the 
road  by  securing  an  innocent  appearing  act  from  the  legislature,  which 
allowed  the  erection  of  the  gate  in  Egremont  instead  of  in  Alford,  in 
consequence  of  which  there  were  no  tolls  collected  in  the  town  of  Alford. 

Between  1806  and  18 10  the  company  was  busy  with  its  legal  prelimi- 
naries, and  by  1812  the  road  was  in  full  operation,  when  certain  roads 
in  the  two  towns,  made  unnecessary  by  the  building  of  the  turnpike,  were 
discontinued. 

The  length  of  the  road  was  about  six  miles,  and  the  cost  was  returned 
as  $8218.66,  or  about  $1370  per  mile.  Returns  were  made  of  the 
operations  for  the  first  two  years,  showing  net  profits  of  $93  and  $139 
respectively. 

Three  quarters  of  a  mile  of  the  road  was  relocated  in  1824,  the  act 
providing  therefor  giving  the  exact  route  by  a  surveyor's  description. 

A  bridge  on  this  road  was  the  cause  of  much  concern  to  the  patrons 
about  1839,  and  failing  to  convince  the  corporation  of  the  possibility 
of  accident  they  appealed  to  the  county  commissioners.  That  body 
decreed  that,  unless  the  bridge  was  put  in  safe  condition  by  August  8, 
1839,  the  tollgate  should  be  thrown  open  and  no  tolls  collected,  which 
action  proved  sufficient,  for  the  record  shows  that  the  bridge  was  re- 
paired. The  last  record  of  this  corporation  is  dated  January,  1842, 
when  one  Forbes  made  petition  to  have  the  gate  opened.  This,  we  pre- 
sume, indicates  the  date  at  which  the  road  became  free. 

Tourists  desiring  to  follow  this  road  should  proceed  directly  from 
South  Egremont  to  Egremont  Plain  and  then  follow  the  road  up  the 
bank  of  the  Green  River  to  the  New  York  line. 


[168] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 


THE    LANCASTER   AND    BOLTON   TURNPIKE 

The  road  built  by  the  Lancaster  and  Bolton  Turnpike  Corporation, 
under  its  charter  granted  March  13,  1806,  was  a  small  affair,  but  it 
seems  to  have  filled  a  gap  between  two  systems  of  good  free  roads.  The 
location  is  noticeable  because  it  extended  from  Jacob  Fisher's  in  Lancas- 
ter to  Jacob  Fisher's  in  Bolton,  and  from  the  east  end  of  Main  Street 
in  Lancaster  to  the  west  end  of  Main  Street  in  Bolton.  The  road  is 
known  to-day  as  the  "  Seven  Bridge  Road,"  suggestive  of  the  "  straight 
line  "  disregarded  for  watercourses  as  well  as  hills. 

The  Worcester  County  records  show  the  location  of  this  turnpike 
in  1806  "  from  Leominster  road  in  Lancaster,  through  Bolton,  to  the 
County  line,"  but  the  maps  filed  by  the  towns  in  1830  show  only  about 
two  and  a  half  miles  of  turnpike  between  the  limits  as  first  stated,  con- 
necting at  the  easterly  end  with  the  ancient  "  Great  Road  "  to  Boston. 
According  to  a  paper  in  the  Proceedings  of  the  Fitchburg  Historical 
Society  the  better  grades  on  this  road  diverted  a  great  deal  of  travel 
from  the  Union  Turnpike.  There  seems  to  be  good  reason  to  believe 
that  this  was  so,  and  it  offers  damaging  evidence  against  the  "  straight 
line  "  obsession  which  was  fatal  to  so  many  turnpikes.  Over  the  Union 
and  the  Cambridge  and  Concord,  turnpike  improvements  were  offered 
all  the  way  to  Boston,  but  adherence  to  the  "  straight  line "  car- 
ried them  over  so  many  hills  that  the  old  free  roads  through  Stow, 
Sudbury,  and  Waltham  were  preferred.  The  principal  lines  of  mail 
stages  between  Boston  and  Albany,  through  northwestern  Massachu- 
setts, followed  this  route  over  the  Lancaster  and  Bolton  Turnpike  until 
they  were  superseded  by  the  railroad  trains. 

Construction  cost  amounted  to  $6291.90,  or  about  $2520  a  mile,  a 
figure  which  suggests  that  the  Worcester  record  of  the  layout  as  ex- 
tending to  the  county  line  may  be  right  after  all.  In  that  case  the  cost 
per  mile  would  be  reduced  to  about  $900.  But,  as  stated,  the  1830  maps 
limit  the  road  to  two  and  a  half  miles,  and  no  record  has  been  found 
discontinuing  any  part  of  the  turnpike  prior  to  that  date. 

The  commissioners  of  Worcester  County  made  the  Lancaster  and 
Bolton  Turnpike  a  public  road  in  1847. 

Of  the  twelve  turnpike  charters,  granted  in.  the  year  1806  only  two 
failed  to  result  in  a  new  road.  The  second  of  these  was  the  Second 
Brush  Hill  Turnpike  Corporation,  chartered  March  14,  1806.  The 
road  contemplated  by  this  company  was  to  form  an  extension  toward 
Boston  of  the  Brush  Hill  Turnpike  which  we  have  already  noticed.  It 
was  to  start  at  the  easterly  end  of  the  Brush  Hill  and  run  thence  in  a 
straight  line  to  Front  Street  in  Boston.  Front  Street  was  the  original 
name  of  Harrison  Avenue,  the  change  being  made  in  1841.  Elaborate 
provisions  were  made  for  a  bridge  over  the  Roxbury  Canal,  the  channel 

[169] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

by  which  it  was  hoped  to  make  Roxbury  a  seaport,  a  draw  being  re- 
quired between  twenty  and  thirty  feet  wide,  which  was  to  be  opened 
without  delay  "  except  for  pleasure  boats."  Although  the  time  within 
which  the  road  was  to  be  built  was  ultimately  extended  for  ten  years 
no  construction  was  ever  done. 


THE   WRENTHAM   AND   WALPOLE   TURNPIKE 

After  175 1,  at  which  time  a  new  road  was  laid  out  by  the  town  officials 
of  Attleboro  and  Wrentham,  connecting  the  old  Boston  Post  Road, 
at  a  point  near  the  upper  end  of  the  present  North  Attleboro  Village, 
with  the  old  Woonsocket  Road  near  Wampum  Station  on  the  Wren- 
tham Branch  of  the  New  Haven  Road,  the  main  road  from  Boston  to 
Providence  passed  through  the  centers  of  Norwood,  Walpole,  Wren- 
tham, and  North  Attleboro,  along  the  lines  of  the  present-day  state 
highway.  The  Norfolk  and  Bristol  Turnpike  sought  to  divert  travel 
from  this  route  by  building  a  road  in  a  straight  line  from  Norwood 
to  North  Attleboro,  but  the  grades  were  steep,  and  the  country  un- 
productive, and  travelers  still  held  to  the  old  lines.  A  seven-mile 
section  of  the  old  route  led  through  wild  woods  and  cedar  swamps  be- 
tween Walpole  and  Wrentham,  and  it  is  easy  to  imagine  that  the  road 
was  poor  and  soft.  On  March  12,  1806,  the  Wrentham  and  Walpole 
Turnpike  Corporation  was  incorporated  for  the  purpose  of  improving 
this  part  of  the  route. 

The  general-law  provision  that  five  disinterested  freeholders  of  the 
county  should  locate  the  road  was  brushed  aside  by  the  legislature  two 
days  later,  when  an  act  was  passed  providing  that  Eliphalet  Loud, 
Elijah  Crane,  and  Benjamin  Randall  should  be  the  committee  for  that 
purpose.  The  location  was  made  and  damages  were  awarded  and  re- 
ported to  the  court  in  1807.  But  some  time  elapsed  without  further 
action,  and  we  find  the  company  before  the  legislature  of  181 1  asking 
for  an  extension  of  the  time  for  completing  the  road.  It  was  allowed 
until  March  14,  1812.  Little  seems  to  be  known  about  the  road.  An 
old  resident,  one  of  the  family  which  gave  the  name  to  Pondville,  was 
once  asked  if  that  road  was  ever  a  toll  road.  After  a  brief  hesitation 
.  he  replied,  "  Yes,  but  it  did  n't  last  long."  Norfolk  County  records 
show  that  it  was  laid  out  as  a  public  highway  in  1830. 

Anyone  desiring  to  trace  the  old  turnpike  to-day  should  simply  go 
from  Wrentham  to  Walpole.  There  is  but  one  road,  and  it  cannot  be 
missed,  except  in  the  edge  of  Walpole  Center,  where  alterations  due 
to  grade-crossing  abolitions  have  badly  warped  the  original  layout. 

THE   STOUGHTON   TURNPIKE 

The  act  incorporating  the  Stoughton  Turnpike  Corporation  June  23, 
1806,  is  noteworthy  for  being  the  first  one  in  which  the  judgment  of  the 
[170] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

persons  investing  the  money  is  mentioned  as  a  factor  to  determine  the 
location  of  the  road.  This  company  was  to  build  from  a  point  in  the 
"  Old  Bay  Road  "  in  Canton,  about  two  miles  beyond  the  westerly  end-, 
of  the  Brush  Hill  Turnpike,  to  a  point  on  the  Taunton  and  South  Boston 
Turnpike  in  the  town  of  Easton.  It  may  be  noted  that  the  Taunton 
and  South  Boston,  mentioned  in  this  act,  was  incorporated  a  day  later, 
and  had  no  actual  existence  at  the  time,  much  less  was  there  any  such 
road. 

December  13,  1806,  the  five  disinterested  freeholders  of  Bristol 
County  were  appointed  to  locate  the  road,  and  in  September,  1808,  they 
reported,  the  section  in  Norfolk  County  being  located  at  the  same  time. 
But  work  did  not  advance  at  once,  and  the  company  secured  an  extension 
of  its  time  to  June,  18 13. 

This  turnpike  is  now  the  state  highway  known  as  Turnpike  Street 
in  Canton,  and  Washington  Street  in  Stoughton  and  Easton.  In  its 
active  days  it  offered  a  through  route  from  Taunton  to  Roxbury,  except 
for  the  two  miles  intervening  between  its  northerly  end  and  the  end  of 
the  Brush  Hill.  At  the  southerly  end,  as  stated,  it  connected  with  the 
Taunton  and  South  Boston,  which  entered  Taunton,  and,  by  the  con- 
struction of  a  later  turnpike,  through  turnpike  travel  to  Providence  was 
provided. 

Such  a  franchise  as  that  of  the  Stoughton  Turnpike  would  be  almost 
impossible  to  obtain  at  this  time.  It  closely  paralleled  a  direct  route, 
half  of  which  was  already  built  or  under  construction,  with  the  other 
half  seeking  incorporation  and  ready  to  proceed.  It  depended  upon 
another  company  for  entrance  into  Taunton  and,  by  its  connection,  would 
take  away  one  half  of  that  company's  through  business.  Evidently  the 
principle  of  protecting  investments  in  public  utilities  was  not  then 
established. . 

The  Stoughton  Turnpike  Corporation  was  dissolved  by  act  of  the 
legislature  in  March,  1839,  and  its  road  was  laid  out  as  a  county  high- 
way in  1840,  except  a  portion  in  Stoughton,  which  was  so  laid  out  in 
1856. 

THE   TAUNTON   AND    SOUTH    BOSTON   TURNPIKE 

The  Taunton  and  South  Boston  Turnpike  Corporation  was  created 
by  act  of  June  24,  1806,  with  the  right  to  build  a  road 

from  Taunton  Green,  so  called,  .  .  .  nearly  on  a  straight  line  to  the  crossway  over 
the  Great  Cedar  Swamp,  so  called,  and  from  thence  over  said  crossway  near  to  the 
house  of  Joshua  Gilmore  in  Easton,  and  from  thence  through  the  towns  of  Bridge- 
water  and  Stoughton,  the  most  direct  and  convenient  route  to  the  Blue  Hill 
Turnpike. 

Petitions  entered  late  in  1806  resulted  in  the  location  of  the  road 
and  in  awards  of  damages  during  the  year  1 807.  The  report  of  the  com- 
mittee to  locate  the  road  and  assess  damages  within  the  county  of  Bristol 

[171] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

is  found  in  full  on  the  records  in  Taunton,  and  gives  some  interesting 
data  on  a  subject  generally  indefinite. 

The  length  of  the  road  in  that  county  was  9.11  miles,  of  which  3.08 
miles,  or  33^  per  cent,  was  built  on  land  which  the  owners  freely 
gave  to  the  corporation.  Twenty-three  per  cent  of  the  right  of  way  was 
obtained  by  purchase  at  an  agreed  price,  details  of  which  are  not  given; 
while,  with  the  owners  of  43T2T  per  cent  of  the  needed  land,  no  agree- 
ment could  be  reached,  and  the  corporation  was  obliged  to  condemn  the 
land  .and  have  the  price  fixed  by  the  committee.  That  was  done  on 
twenty-nine  parcels  covering  a  length  of  twelve  hundred  and  fifty-eight 
rods,  on  which  the  committee  appraised  the  damage  at  a  total  of  $2009. 
The  corporation  through  a  director,  Samuel  Fales,  appealed  from  two 
of  the  awards  and  succeeded  in  obtaining  a  total  reduction  of  twenty- 
five  dollars.  Thus,  from  the  figures  actually  available,  we  see  that  the 
right  of  way  in  Bristol  County  cost  about  $505  a  mile,  or  at  the  rate 
of  about  $63  an  acre. 

Two  hundred  and  seventy-five  rods  of  the  way  was  through  the  Great 
Cedar  Swamp,  which  occupies  portions  of  Bridgewater,  West  Bridge- 
water,  Easton,  Raynham,  and  Taunton,  swinging  in  a  big  semicircle 
northerly  and  westerly  from  Nippenicket  Pond  in  Bridgewater  to 
Scadding  Pond  in  Taunton.  The  cedar  swamps  of  southeastern  Massa- 
chusetts plainly  were  not  designed  for  road  building.  The  straight, 
slender  cedars  grow  so  thickly  that  only  the  fittest  survive,  and  the  ones 
that  die  are  so  tightly  wedged  in  the  living  mass  that  they  cannot  fall, 
but  continue  to  stand,  ghostlike,  greatly  increasing  the  difficulty  of  cut- 
ting a  way  through.  One  may  walk  at  one  moment  on  firm  soil  and 
then  suddenly  step  through  a  hole  so  deep  that  the  length  of  his  leg  does 
not  locate  the  bottom.  Soundings  have  determined  the  hard  bottom  in 
several  of  these  swamps  to  be  anywhere  from  six  inches  to  thirty  feet 
below  the  surface,  with  water  almost  always  within  the  depression  made 
by  a  footstep.  The  surface  is  composed  of  a  network  of  large  roots, 
generally  so  thickly  woven  that  the  soil  is  held  between  them,  but  always 
liable  to  yield  through  a  larger  hole  when  a  careless  foot  marks  its 
center.  Through  such  an  inferno  the  builders  of  the  Taunton  and  South 
Boston  Turnpike  had  the  courage  to  make  .86  mile  of  their  road.  And 
it  was  the  obstacle  presented  by  this  cedar  swamp  to  the  building  of 
earlier  roads  which  gave  the  opportunity  for  a  turnpike  to  be  built 
where  public  funds  could  not  be  applied. 

Enough  has  already  been  said  concerning  the  through  route  from 
Taunton  to  Boston  offered  by  this  road  and  its  connections,  the  Blue 
Hill  and  the  Dorchester.  The  junction  with  the  Blue  Hill  was  made  in 
the  northerly  part  of  the  town  of  Randolph  at  what  is  now  the  corner 
of  North  Main  and  High  streets.  Thence  this  turnpike  followed  the 
roads  now  known  as  High  Street  in  Randolph,  Turnpike  Street  in 
Stoughton,  Pearl  Street  in  Brockton,  Turnpike  Street  in  Easton,  and 
Broadway  in  Raynham  and  Taunton. 
[172] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

A  tollhouse  long  stood  in  Raynham,  near  the  Taunton  line,  where  it 
stood  so  many  years  ago  in  an  official  capacity.  Respected  for  its  old 
associations  it  was  allowed  to  remain,  even  through  state  highway  im- 
provement, and  pushed  its  clapboards  close  to  the  macadamized  portion 
until  the  road  had  been  free  for  over  sixty  years. 

Twenty-one  and  a  half  miles  were  built  at  a  cost  of  $34,434.61,  or 
about  $1600  a  mile.  Returns  were  made  to  the  state  house  from  18 10 
to  1849,  as  shown  on  the  chart  herewith.  The  showing  is  remarkably 
poor,  the  gross  earnings  never  running  as  high  as  three  per  cent,  while 
the  expenses  were  generally  close  to  them  and  often  in  excess. 

An  act  passed  in  18 17  shows  that  this  road  suffered,  too,  from 
"  shunpikers,"  for  a  penalty  is  there  laid  for  all  practicing  such  evasions. 

Kingman's  "History  of  North  Bridgewater "  (Brockton)  testifies 
that  at  one  time  there  was  a  heavy  travel  over  this  road,  both  of  freight 
and  passengers. 

April  1,  1 8 13,  Joshua  Gilmore,  agent  for  the  corporation,  made  ap- 
peal to  the  court.  The  selectmen  of  Easton  had  laid  out  a  new  road, 
taking  some  of  the  corporation's  land,  refusing  any  compensation  there- 
for. The  records  show  that  a  jury  summoned  by  Abiezer  Dean, 
coroner,  found  for  the  corporation  in  the  sum  of  $23.17  and  costs. 

The  Taunton  and  South  Boston  Turnpike  became  a  public  road 
throughout  its  length  in  1851. 

The  Lancaster  Turnpike  Corporation,  February  18,  1807,  proposed 
to  build  over  twenty-five  miles  of  road  from  Fitchburg  to  Sudbury  but 
never  carried  out  its  plans.  In  the  act  of  incorporation  it  was  specified 
that,  for  affecting  the  Fifth  Massachusetts  Turnpike,  the  company  must 
erect  a  gate  and  tollhouse  within  two  miles  of  the  westerly  terminus  of 
its  road  and  let  the  management  of  the  Fifth  collect  and  keep  the  tolls. 

February  28,  1807,  the  Stockbridge  Turnpike  Corporation  was  in- 
corporated to  build  a  short  road 

through  the  town  of  Stockbridge,  so  as  to  stand  connected  with  "  The  Housatonic 
River  Turnpike,"  and  "  The  Fifteenth  Massachusetts  Turnpike." 

A  committee  to  locate  this  road  was  duly  appointed  in  Berkshire 
County,  but  probably  nothing  further  was  accomplished. 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  Fifteenth  Massachusetts  had  a  fran- 
chise to  build  to  the  southerly  line  of  Stockbridge,  but  gave  up  the  last 
three  quarters  of  a  mile  of  its  location  on  account  of  an  excellent  public 
road  which  continued  the  journey  to  Stockbridge,  so  there  seems  to  have 
been  little  encouragement  for  this  proposition. 

February  28,  1807,  the  Sheffield  and  Great  Barrington  Turnpike 
Corporation  was  formed  to  build  over  twenty-one  miles  of  road  from 
the  south  line  of  Sheffield  to  the  northerly  part  of  West  Stockbridge,  but 

[173] 


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THE   TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

apparently  the  franchise  was  never  used.  No  records  whatever  have 
been  found,  and  since  it  was  designed  to  lay  the  road  between  two 
parallel  and  active  turnpikes,  the  Fifteenth  Massachusetts  and  the 
Twelfth,  which  were  only  about  five  miles  apart,  it  is  easy  to  believe 
that  second  thought  showed  the  futility  of  the  idea. 

The  Mashapog  Turnpike  Corporation,  June  19,  1807,  vainly  hoped 
to  build  a  road  from  the  meeting-house  in  the  town  of  Norton  to  a 
point  near  the  end  of  the  Brush  Hill  Turnpike.  As  stated  before  this 
same  route  had  been  granted  to  the  Norton  Turnpike  Corporation  less 
than  a  year  and  a  half  before.  The  route  desired  by  these  two  com- 
panies has  never  been  one  of  importance  and  cannot  be  said  now  to  be 
even  of  local  importance,  but  Norton,  years  ago,  had  some  manufactur- 
ing ambitions,  and  the  need  of  an  outlet  for  its  products  to  Boston  may 
have  been  imagined. 

Another  hope  which  did  not  end  in  fruition  was  that  of  the  Westford 
and  Lexington  Turnpike  Corporation,  also  incorporated  June  19,  which 
was  to  build  from  the  southerly  part  of  Westford  to  the  meeting-house 
irr  Lexington.  It  evidently  was  intended  as  a  link  in  a  system  by  which 
to  reach  Milford,  New  Hampshire,  entering  Boston  over  the  Middle- 
sex, while  another  company,  incorporated  later,  was  to  extend  to  the 
New  Hampshire  line. 

Another  product  of  the  nineteenth  of  June  was  the  Bethlehem  and 
Tyringham  Turnpike  Corporation.  This  company  proposed  a  road  to 
run  from  the  Tenth  Massachusetts  in  Bethlehem  to  the  county  road 
between  Stockbridge  and  Great  Barrington.  It  would  have  been  at  least 
fifteen  miles  long,  over  an  exceedingly  rough  and  hilly  country,  and 
the  route  would  have  closely  paralleled  that  of  the  Housatonic  River 
Turnpike.  A  committee  was  appointed  by  the  Berkshire  court  in  1808 
to  locate  the  road,  but  no  further  records  appear.  This,  also,  we  have 
to  include  among  those  not  built. 

Bethlehem  became  a  part  of  Loudon  in  1809  and  Loudon  became 
Otis  in  1 8 10. 

No  better  fortune  attended  the  Alford  and  West  Stockbridge  Turn- 
pike Corporation,  created  on  June  20,  1807.  Its  franchise  covered 
from  the  line  of  Hillsdale,  New  York,  to  the  Housatonic  River  Turn- 
pike in  Stockbridge,  and  its  location  was  determined  by  the  five  disin- 
terested Berkshire  freeholders  in  1808.  No  further  records  appear  and 
no  returns  were  ever  filed;  and  the  map  filed  in  1830  by  the  town  of 
Stockbridge,  which  essayed  to  show  the  turnpikes  in  that  town,  does  not 
record  the  existence  of  such  a  one  as  this.  Nor  is  there  a  road  in  ex- 
istence to-day  which  leads  us  to  another  belief  than  that  the  Alford  and 
West  Stockbridge  was  never  built.     This  belief  is  strengthened  by  the 

[i75] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

incorporation,  in  1818,  of  the  West  Stockbridge  and  Alford  Turnpike 
Corporation  with  a  franchise  covering  practically  the  same  route,  which 
certainly  indicates  that  the  first  company  did  not  build. 

The  road  proposed  by  the  Dalton  and  Middlefield  Turnpike  Corpo- 
ration was  a  real  need,  but  the  difficulties  of  construction  were  too  great 
for  the  design  to  be  carried  into  execution.  The  Eighth  Massachusetts 
had  already  received  a  charter  to  build  between  the  same  terminals,  but 
its  route,  through  the  northerly  part  of  Becket,  was  too  rough  and  con- 
struction was  never  attempted.  The  substitute  route,  offered  by  the 
Becket  Turnpike,  was  too  roundabout  a  way  to  reach  Pittsfield  from 
Springfield,  and  hope  of  a  better  line  was  exploited  in  the  franchise  of 
the  Dalton  and  Middlefield,  chartered  June  20,  1807.  But  the  route 
selected  by  this  company  was  too  difficult  for  the  means  of  that  time, 
and  the  road  was  never  built.  Not  until  the  discovery  of  the  pass 
through  which  the  Westfield  River  makes  its  way  between  Becket  and 
Middlefield,  and  its  feasibility  for  a  road,  was  this  dream  to  be  real- 
ized. It  came  many  years  after  in  the  building  of  the  Pontoosuc 
Turnpike. 

The  charter  of  the  Sturbridge  and  Western  Turnpike  Corporation, 
granted  June  20,  1807,  was  a  variation  from  the  usual  practice,  as  the 
company  was  allowed  to  vary  its  route  from  a  straight  line  if  necessary. 
But  even  that  privilege  did  not  enable  the  promoters  to  get  their  road 
on  the  map.  The  plan  was  to  open  a  route  from  Providence  to  the  First 
Massachusetts  Turnpike  in  the  town  of  Western,  now  Warren. 

The  first  charter  granted  by  the  legislature  of  1808  shared  the  fate 
of  all  of  the  vintage  of  1807.  The  Nashua  Turnpike  Corporation, 
created  February  8,  was  to  build  from  the  house  of  Deacon  John  White, 
which  stood  where  now  is  the  westerly  end  of  the  Colonial  Inn  in 
Concord,  through  Acton,  Littleton,  and  Groton,  to  Shirley;  and  by  an 
amendment  granted  June  10,  1808,  through  Ashby  and  Ashburnham 
to  the  New  Hampshire  line.  None  of  it  was  ever  built.  It  would  have 
made  a  through  route,  in  connection  with  the  Cambridge  and  Concord, 
from  Boston  to  southern  New  Hampshire  and  to  towns  in  the  Connecti- 
cut Valley. 

THE    HINGHAM   AND    QUINCY   TURNPIKE 

Prior  to  the  construction  of  the  road  of  the  Hingham  and  Quincy 
Bridge  and  Turnpike  Corporation  with  its  bridges,  travelers  between 
those  towns  were  obliged  to  go  around  the  heads  of  Weymouth  Fore 
and  Back  rivers,  over  Paine's  Hill  and  through  Braintree,  finding  them- 
selves at  the  end  of  the  trip  only  about  half  as  far  from  the  starting 
point  as  the  distance  they  had  covered.  The  corporation  which  was  to 
remedy  this  difficulty  was  created  by  act  of  March  5,  1808,  after  a  most 
[176] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 


spirited  opposition  from  representatives  of  the  shipping  interests  and 
from  residents  of  the  section  which  expected  to  be  left  on  one  side  if 
the  new  road  was  built.  Most  conspicuous  in  the  opposition  was  Minot 
Thayer,  who  has  been  mentioned  as  "  one  of  the  most  permanent  and 
active  members  of  the  legislature,"  and  under  whose  leadership  his 
home  town  of  Braintree  made  a  strong  protest.  It  is  difficult,  at  this 
time,  to  understand  the  fear  caused  by  the  proposition  to  erect  bridges 
across  the  rivers  named,  especially  when  it  is  borne  in  mind  that  they 
were  to  be  equipped  as  drawbridges.  But  it  seems  to  have  been  gener- 
ally accepted  that  such  bridges  would  constitute  a  public  nuisance,  and 
even  the  people  living  on  the  land  joined  in  the  objections.  Such  strength 
in  the  hostile  forces  could  not  be  altogether  overcome,  and  before  the 
passage  of  the  act  of  incorporation  the  petitioners  had  to  consent  to 
three  conditions: 

1 .  Payment  to  all  vessels  which  passed  the  draw. 

2.  After  25  years  and  within  27  years  the  bridges  might  be  removed  as  common 
nuisances. 

3.  No  land  to  be  taken  until  payment  was  made  or  tendered. 

The  third  condition  was  but  a  just  one  and  is  practically  what  is  now  re- 
quired of  railroads  under  the  general  law.  The  second  may  have 
seemed  harsh,  as  it  contemplated  the  summary  removal  of  the  bridges 
at  the  end  of  twenty-five  years,  but  the  natural  developments  within  that 
time  made  this  condition  a  dead  letter.  But  the  first  condition  was  a 
real  burden  and  was  most  unjustly  borne  by  the  company  for  twenty 
years. 

The  section  of  the  act  of  incorporation  which  prescribed  this  oner- 
ous condition  required  that  the  bridge  at  Fore  River  should  have  "  a 
suitable  drawer  "  not  less  than  thirty-four  feet  wide,  and  the  Back  River 
Bridge,  one  not  less  than  twenty-four  feet.  The  payments  were  to  be 
made  to  the  master  of  each  loaded  vessel 

of  more  than  fifteen  tons  burthen  that  shall  pass  through  said  Drawers  respectively, 
for  the  purpose  of  unloading  her  cargo,  three  cents  a  ton  for  each  and  every  ton, 
said  vessel  shall  measure. 

It  may  well  be  queried,  even  by  residents  of  the  neighborhood  of 
these  bridges,  what  navigable  streams  of  such  great  importance  the  Fore 
and  Back  rivers  could  be.  A  glance  at  the  map  will  hardly  explain  the 
matter,  for  there  one  will  see  but  two  crooked  salt-water  creeks  pene- 
trating hardly  two  miles  inland,  and  the  reader  must  bear  in  mind  that 
the  turnpike  was  yet  in  its  infancy  and  that  the  early  colonial  dependence 
upon  water  transportation  had  not  yet  been  displaced.  To  the  inhabi- 
tants of  the  town  of  Weymouth  and  of  the  adjoining  parts  of  Braintree 
and  Hingham  these  water  routes  must  have  seemed  indispensable  for 
the  transport  of  their  products  to  the  markets  of  Boston.  A  suggestion 
of  the  extent  of  the  commerce  on  these  rivers  is  found  in  the  returns 
made  by  the  corporation.     It  appears  from  the  payments  which  were 

[i77] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

made  that  14,308  tons  passed  the  two  bridges  in  1818;  18,006  tons  in 
1 8 1 9 ;  while,  in  1824,  11,612  tons  sailed  Fore  River  and  2408  tons  were 
warped  through  the  draw  of  the  Back  River  Bridge. 

In  1909  the  United  States  Navy  Department  acquired  the  land  along 
the  easterly  shore  of  Back  River  for  a  naval  supply  base,  not  anticipating 
serious  disadvantages  from  the  presence  of  a  drawbridge  below.  But 
navigation  had  so  fallen  away  from  the  old  river  that  an  antiquated 
form  of  draw  was  then  in  use  which,  it  was  said,  only  yielded  to  the 
combined  strength  of  eight  men,  so  the  old  bridge  and  its  draw  soon 
gave  way  to  one  more  satisfactory  to  the  navy's  demands. 

Fore  River  Bridge  has  long  had  a  modern  opening,  through  which 
pass  many  vessels  bearing  supplies  and  raw  materials  for  the  great  ship- 
building yards  to  which  the  river  has  lent  its  name,  while  it  opens  from 
time  to  time  to  let  out  a  recently  launched  "  mistress  of  the  seas  "  or  an 
unromantic  "  molasses  tanker." 

But  the  corporation  found  that  its  troubles  were  not  over  with  the 
securing  of  its  franchise.  It  has  been  noted  that  of  the  ten  turnpike 
corporations  incorporated  next  preceding  this  one  not  one  did  any  con- 
struction, and  most  of  the  companies  seeking  to  build  at  this  time  were 
obliged  to  apply  to  the  legislature  for  an  extension  of  their  time.  The 
Hingham  and  Quincy  felt  the  hard  times  with  the  others  and  was  a  long 
time  in  raising  the  necessary  money,  but  enough  had  been  secured  by 
February  3,  18 12,  to  justify  holding  the  first  meeting  and  developing 
the  general  plans,  and  the  first  ground  was  broken  in  Weymouth  on 
June  3  of  that  year. 

At  an  early  meeting  of  the  board  of  directors  it  was  voted  to  hire 
a  superintendent,  who  should  be  paid  seven  shillings  six  pence  a  day. 
He  was  "  to  superintend  the  men  and  to  work  on  the  road  to  the  best 
of  his  ability."  Authority  was  given  him  to  hire  six  men  at  a  dollar 
a  day,  and  seventeen  more  at  twenty-two  dollars  a  month.  They  voted 
to  buy  a  scraper  and  a  yoke  of  oxen  and  get  ready  to  tear  things  gen- 
erally. A  local  builder  contracted  to  erect  the  tollhouse  at  the  Back 
River  Bridge  for  five  hundred  dollars. 

Several  committees  were  appointed  to  solicit  subscriptions  to  the  stock 
of  the  corporation,  and  one  committee  was  intrusted  with  the  single  duty 
of  so  presenting  the  advantages  of  the  enterprise  to  Reverend  Henry 
Coleman  of  Hingham  as  to  induce  him  to  give  his  aid  and  influence  to 
the  undertaking. 

Five  miles  of  road,  with  two  bridges  of  great  magnitude  for  those 
days,  were  completed  by  November  19,  1812,  on  which  day  the  courts 
of  Norfolk  and  Plymouth  formally  accepted  the  road  and  allowed  it 
to  open  for  business.  The  cost  was  returned  as  twenty-four  thousand 
dollars,  but,  on  account  of  the  two  bridges,  cannot  be  proportioned  by 
miles. 

On  the  opening  day  Mrs.  John  Adams,  wife  of  the  second  president 
of  the  United  States,  wrote: 
[178] 


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Plate  XLIX  —  Map  of  Boston  at  the  Beginning  of  the  Turnpike  Era,  1795 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

At  twelve  o'clock  called  for  cousin  Smith,  by  previous  engagement,  to  accompany 
me  to  the  bridge  at  Quincy  Point  being  the  first  day  of  passing  it.  The  day  was 
pleasant;  the  scenery  delightful.  Passed  both  bridges  and  entered  Hingham.  Re- 
turned before  three  o'clock. 

Much  more  might  have  been  expressed  on  the  subject  of  making  a  com- 
plete journey  between  twelve  and  three  which  previously  had  required 
the  greater  part  of  a  day. 

The  next  issue  of  the  Columbian  Centinel,  November  21,  18 12, 
announced : 

The  Hingham  and  Quincy  Turnpike  Road  which  shortens  the  distance  between 
the  two  towns  nearly  one  half  —  presenting  the  finest  of  views,  and  the  most  delight- 
ful ride  in  the  vicinity  of  Boston,  is  now  open  for  the  accommodation  of  the  public. 

Through  the  first  winter  the  Plymouth  mail  stage  was  allowed  free 
passage  over  the  new  turnpike,  but,  April  1,  18 13,  that  came  under  toll 
requirements  also. 

The  bugbear  of  the  drawbridge  did  not  materialize,  but  the  fear 
died  hard,  and  it  was  not  until  1832  that  it  disappeared  entirely.  By 
that  time  the  benefits  of  the  road  and  bridges  and  the  rights  of  travelers 
by  land  had  become  so  well  established  that  the  legislature  on  March  12, 
1832,  repealed  the  unjust  provision,  and  relieved  the  corporation  from 
further  payments  to  masters  of  vessels.  The  company  had  made  fre- 
quent efforts  in  previous  years  to  obtain  relief  from  this  condition,  and 
we  learn  from  Nash's  "  History  of  Weymouth  "  that  that  town,  in 
meeting  on  April  21,  1820,  voted  to  appoint  a  committee  to  oppose  the 
petition  which  had  been  made  for  that  purpose. 

In  the  fifty  years  of  the  turnpike's  operation  but  two  accidents  oc- 
curred, the  first  in  1824,  for  which  Benjamin  S.  Williams  recovered 
one  thousand  dollars,  and  the  second  in  1844,  when  Reverend  Thomas 
Whittemore  was  paid  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars. 

A  notable  record  of  long  service  is  shown  by  this  company.  The 
office  of  president  was  filled  by  Martin  Fearing  of  Hingham  for  the 
forty-three  years  between  1820  and  1863;  Lemuel  Bracket  of  Quincy 
performed  the  duties  of  clerk  for  one  year  less  from  18 13  to  1855;  and 
Thomas  Cushing  commenced  his  duties  as  toll  gatherer  November  20, 
1 8 1 8,  only  to  relinquish  them  when  the  road  and  bridges  became  free 
July  4,  1864.  Upon  the  dissolution  of  the  corporation  a  gift  of  thirty 
dollars  was  voted  to  him. 

Returns  of  business  done  were  made  by  this  company  from  1824  to 
the  end  of  its  existence,  as  shown  on  the  chart  which  is  here  reproduced. 
The  receipts  did  not  drop  off  as  abruptly  upon  the  advent  of  railroad 
competition  as  did  those  of  other  companies.  But  that  the  management 
feared  such  a  result  appears  from  an  item  of  $84.08  for  legislative  ex- 
penses in  1845,  "  remonstrating  against  Railroad  Petitions."  A  most 
noticeable  drop  may  be  seen  in  the  expenses  following  the  year  1833, 
when  payments  to  masters  of  vessels  ceased.  The  gross  earnings  of  the 
Hingham  and  Quincy  seem  to  have  generally  run  from  eight  to  twelve 

[i79] 


5ff^affiiOT 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

per  cent  of  the  cost  of  the  road,  with  the  expenditures  far  enough  below 
in  most  years  to  yield  a  fair  dividend.  But  it  must  be  remembered  that 
this  was  more  of  a,  bridge  proposition  than  a  turnpike,  and  bridges  were 
usually  more  profitable. 

The  legislature  of  i860  provided  for  the  laying  out  of  this  turnpike 
and  bridges  as  a  public  highway  by  the  county  commissioners,  if  the 
corporation  consented;  but  evidently  consent  was  not  forthcoming,  for 
we  find  more  drastic  action  two  years  later.  April  30,  1862,  the  great 
and  general  court  peremptorily  laid  it  out  as,  and  decreed  that  it  should 
become  on  the  fourth  day  of  the  next  July,  a  public  highway,  except  that 
the  selectmen  of  the  three  towns  were  to  collect  tolls  on  the  two  bridges 
for  two  years  more.  As  all  the  gates  maintained  by  the  corporation 
were  the  ones  on  the  two  bridges,  matters  were  not  much  improved  until 
the  two  years  had  passed. 

As  the  legislature  did  not  provide  any  compensation  for  the  taking 
away  of  the  corporation's  franchise  and  property,  the  supreme  court, 
upon  the  company's  appeal,  appointed  three  commissioners  who  awarded 
damages  to  the  amount  of  $17,810.15.  In  the  final  distribution  of  this 
amount  each  stockholder  received  $106.75  f°r  eacn  share  of  stock, 
this  being  the  only  case,  as  far  as  is  now  known,  in  which  the  original 
investment  was  recovered. 

In  accordance  with  the  above-mentioned  act,  the  road  and  bridge 
passed  into  the  control  of  the  town  officials  July  4,  1862,  and  became 
free  of  all  tolls  July  4,  1864. 

The  last  echo  of  the  company's  affairs  was  heard  in  1870,  when  the 
legislature  enacted  that  the  governor  should  appoint  commissioners  to 
determine  which  towns,  and  in  what  proportion,  should  bear  the  ex- 
pense of  laying  out  the  Hingham  and  Quincy  turnpike  and  bridges. 

To-day  the  turnpike  serves  the  public  along  the  same  old  routes  but 
without  recompense.  As  Beal  Street  it  is  known  in  Hingham;  as  Bridge 
Street  in  Weymouth;  and  as  Washington  Street  in  Quincy. 

A  history  of  the  turnpike  was  published  in  the  Quincy  Patriot  in 
February,  1864,  from  which  several  of  the  foregoing  items  were 
obtained. 

THE    HUDSON   TURNPIKE 

We  have  already  seen  that  the  road  of  the  Housatonic  River  Com- 
pany terminated  at  the  northwest  corner  of  the  town  of  West  Stock- 
bridge,  where  it  connected  with  a  New  York  turnpike  which  continued 
the  journey  to  Albany.  There  was  another  New  York  turnpike  which 
came  to  its  end  at  the  West  Stockbridge  line,  but  a  mile  south  of  the 
junction  made  by  the  Housatonic  River.  This  was  the  Hudson  Turn- 
pike, and  it  came  from  the  town  on  the  river  of  the  same  name,  and  at 
its  terminus  found  itself  with  an  intervening  distance  of  about  two  and  a 
half  miles  in  West  Stockbridge  from  an  improved  road  or  important 

[181] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

center.  So  the  Hudson  Turnpike  Corporation  was  chartered  March  8, 
1808,  possibly  by  the  owners  of  the  New  York  company,  to  build 

from  the  bridge  at  Thayer's  Mills  in  West  Stoclcbridge  ...  to  the  west  line  of  this 
Commonwealth,  in  the  same  town  ...  in  the  most  convenient  place  to  accommo- 
date the  public  travel. 

As  the  road  thus  contemplated  was  only  about  two  and  a  half  miles 
in  length,  it  does  not  seem  probable  that  a  separate  corporation  was 
financed  for  the  purpose  of  building  it,  and  on  account  of  the  similarity 
of  their  names  it  seems  justifiable  to  assume  that  the  Massachusetts 
Hudson  company  and  the  New  York  company  of  the  same  designation 
were  children  of  the  same  financial  parents.  But  if  so,  difficulties  must 
have  been  encountered  in  administering  the  affairs  of  the  two  companies 
jointly,  for  the  Massachusetts  Hudson  Turnpike  became  practically  a 
part  of  the  Housatonic  River,  and  was  treated  and  considered  as  a 
branch  of  that  road. 

The  Hudson  Turnpike  was  located,  built,  and  accepted  in  Berkshire 
County  in  1808,  and  apparently  was  the  road  which  to-day  leads  from 
West  Stockbridge  almost  due  west,  passing  south  of  Crane  Pond  to  the 
New  York  line. 

It  was  laid  out  as  a  public  highway,  in  connection  with  the  Housatonic 
River  Turnpike,  in  1853. 

The  Dartmouth  and  New  Bedford  Turnpike  Corporation  secured 
an  act  March  9,  1808,  under  authority  of  which  it  might  have  built  a 
road  seven  hundred  and  ninety-two  rods  long  from  New  Bedford  to  the 
village  of  Apponegansett,  but  there  is  no  reason  to  believe  that  such  a 
road  was  ever  built. 

March  9  must  have  been  assigned  for  consideration  of  New  Bed- 
ford's interests,  for  the  Middleboro  and  New  Bedford  Turnpike 
Corporation  was  enacted  into  life  also  on  that  day.  This  road  was  to 
run  from  Middleboro,  "  eastward  of  the  long  pond,"  to  the  head 
of  the  Acushnet  River  in  New  Bedford.  Although  there  is  a  much- 
traveled  road  over  this  route,  it  follows  the  old  road  which  has  never 
known  a  gate,  for  the  turnpike  charter  was  allowed  to  lapse.  Had  such 
a  turnpike  been  built  it  would  have  materially  improved  the  business  of 
the  New  Bedford  and  Bridgewater,  for  it  would  have  met  that  road  at 
its  southerly  terminus  and  given  it  a  direct  and  improved  connection  with 
New  Bedford. 

Two  acts  of  incorporation  were  passed  March  12,  1808,  one  forming 
the  Brookfield  and  Charlton  Turnpike  Corporation,  and  the  other,  the 
Providence  and  Northampton  Turnpike  Corporation.  The  first  evi- 
dently contemplated  connection  with  a  Rhode  Island  road  so  as  to  form 
a  through  route  from  Providence  to  Brookfield,  Massachusetts;  and  the 
second  was  to  form  part  of  an  interstate  system  running  through  Rhode 
[182] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 


Island,  Connecticut,  and  Massachusetts,  between  the  cities  indicated  in 
the  corporate  name.  Neither  of  these  seems  to  have  ever  carried  out 
its  plans,  although  the  Brookfield  and  Charlton  did  have  its  road  located 
by  a  Worcester  County  committee  in  1808. 

THE  DOUGLAS,  SUTTON,  AND  OXFORD  TURNPIKE 

The  last  act  passed  in  1808  incorporated  the  Douglas,  Sutton,  and 
Oxford  Turnpike  Corporation  June  10.  This  company  spent  $6256.26 
in  the  construction  of  about  eleven  miles  of  road,  or  at  the  rate  of  about 
$570  per  mile.  By  its  charter  it  was  authorized  to  commence  its  road 
at  Douglas  Center  and  run  thence  through  the  extreme  southwesterly 
corner  of  Sutton,  and  into  Oxford  as  far  as  the  county  road  near  where 
the  Central  Turnpike  was  later  built;  but  the  committee  appointed  by 
the  Worcester  court  saw  fit  to  amend  the  act  of  the  legislature  and 
proceeded  to  locate  the  road  from  a  point  on  the  Rhode  Island  line, 
where  the  Providence  and  Douglas  Turnpike  of  Rhode  Island  termi- 
nated. From  that  point  the  road  ran  straight,  in  continuation  of  the 
line  of  the  Providence  and  Douglas,  for  about  five  miles  to  Douglas 
Center;  thence  over  the  line  of  the  present  Northwest  Main  Street, 
winding  around  the  easterly  shore  of  Whiting's  Pond  in  Douglas,  and 
through  Sutton,  and  into  Oxford,  as  already  explained. 

Only  once  did  this  company  file  a  return,  and  that,  in  1812,  gave  only 
the  gross  receipts,  which  were  $186.47, —  about  three  per  cent  on  the 
cost  of  the  road. 

Daniels,  in  his  "  History  of  Oxford,"  mentions  this  road,  but  only 
to  state  that  it  was  finished  in  18 10,  and  thrown  open  to  the  public  in 
1834,  which  latter  date  is  also  found  on  the  Worcester  County  records. 

We  have  already  noticed  in  connection  with  the  Westford  and  Lex- 
ington a  plan  to  open  a  turnpike  route  from  Boston  to  Milford,  New 
Hampshire.  This  was  to  use  the  Middlesex  as  far  as  what  is  now 
Arlington  Heights  and  to  continue  on  the  Westford  and  Lexington,  after 
a  short  distance  over  a  good  public  road.  Between  Westford  and 
Groton,  apparently,  the  public  road  was  good  enough,  but  on  March  3, 
1809,  tbe  Groton  and  Pepperell  Turnpike  Corporation  was  created  to 
complete  the  route  to  the  New  Hampshire  line.  There  must  have  been 
a  great  deal  of  prospective  trade  in  that  section  of  New  Hampshire,  for 
we  have  noted  several  turnpikes  built  with  their  gates  at  right  angles  to 
that  direction,  and  many  more  that  expired  before  maturity.  As  we 
have  seen,  the  Westford  and  Lexington  did  not  build  its  road.  Neither 
did  the  Groton  and  Pepperell. 

Holland,  in  his  "  History  of  Western  Massachusetts,"  gives  some 
space  to  the  Eleventh  Massachusetts  Turnpike,  but  as  we  have  stated 
in  the  section  devoted  to  that  corporation,  it  does  not  appear  that  any 

[183] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

road  was  built  by  that  company.  Especially  do  we  feel  that  such  is  the 
case,  because  on  June  20,  1809,  the  Granville  Turnpike  Corporation 
was  formed  and  granted  the  privilege  of  a  route  almost  word  for  word 
the  same  as  that  granted  to  the  Eleventh,  and  stated  to  be 

in  the  same  course  and  direction  in  which  the  road  of  the  Eleventh  Massachusetts 
Turnpike  Corporation  was  lately  located.  .  .  . 

Hence  we  feel  justified  in  asserting  that  the  Eleventh  Massachusetts 
was  not  built,  although  a  committee  made  its  location  and  awarded 
damages  to  property  owners  along  the  line,  as  appears  by  the  records 
in  Springfield  and  Northampton. 

It  is  doubtful  if  the  Granville  Turnpike  Corporation  ever  did  any 
construction  either.  No  records  have  been  found  of  any  location  or 
public  layout,  and  no  returns  to  the  secretary  of  state  were  ever  made. 
There  was  an  old  road  following  the  same  route,  much  of  which  the 
turnpike  proposed  to  utilize,  and  over  this  road  there  was  much  early 
travel.  It  is  mentioned  by  Sumner  Gilbert  Wood  in  his  entertaining 
"  Taverns  and  Turnpikes  of  Blandford,"  as  the  regular  route  from 
Blandford  to  Hartford,  and  on  which  stood  the  famous  old  hostelry  of 
"  Squire  Stowe,"  in  the  northerly  part  of  Granville.  This  old  tavern  had 
two  distinctions,  —  it  was  painted  white  and  had  two  stories,  which 
made  it  a  mark  of  interest  for  miles  around. 

In  1 8 12,  three  years  after  its  act  of  incorporation,  the  Granville 
Corporation  secured  from  the  legislature  a  modification  of  the  require- 
ment as  to  width  of  its  road,  having  the  same  reduced  from  twenty-four 
to  eighteen  feet.  This  clearly  indicates  two  things:  that  the  road  had 
not  then  been  even  commenced,  and  that  the  promoters  were  finding  it 
difficult  to  raise  money.  We  are  open  to  conviction,  but  so  far  we  be- 
lieve the  road  was  never  built  as  a  turnpike. 

Three  turnpike  propositions  were  given  a  chance  in  the  year  18 10, 
but  not  one  of  them  fulfilled  the  expectations.  The  first  was  entitled  the 
Boston  Neck  Turnpike  Corporation,  and  was  incorporated  on  the  third 
of  March.  The  road  of  this  company  was  to  run  from  the  corner  of 
Suffolk  and  Lenox  streets  in  Boston  to  "  the  angle  of  the  old  road, 
westerly  of  Wait's  Mills  in  Roxbury."  This  route  is  interesting  because 
it  would  have  run  diagonally  through  the  most  congested  part  of  the 
present  Boston  South  End,  cutting  through  Madison  Square,  the  only 
breathing  place  in  that  section.  According  to  the  assessors'  valuations 
for  the  year  191 5,  a  route  along  those  lines,  four  rods  wide,  would  cost 
about  $1,500,000,  but,  in  18 10,  the  road  builders  would  have  wrought 
their  turnpike  over  muddy  flats  and  tidal  swamps,  with  hardly  an  acre 
of  appreciable  value. 

Suffolk  Street  was  the  name  given,  on  paper,  to  a  street  which  was 
proposed  along  the  lines  of  the  modern  Shawmut  Avenue,1  while  Lenox 
Street  was  an  accurate  forerunner  of  what  later  really  appeared. 

1  Record  of  Streets,  City  of  Boston,  1910. 
[184] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

Wait's  Mills,  in  Rqxbury,  was  a  historic  site,  there  having  been  a 
mill  there  for  the  grinding  of  grain  since  1633,  when  Richard  Dummer 
established  the  industry.  Following  the  expulsion  of  the  founder  from 
the  colony  on  account  of  his  unorthodox  religious  views,  the  Pierpont 
family  owned  and  operated  the  mill  for  more  than  a  century,  after  which 
Samuel  Wait  acquired  the  plant  early  in  the  nineteenth  century.1  The 
mill  was  driven  by  water  power  from  Stony  Brook,  and  stood  on  the 
ancient  Cambridge  Road,  later  the  Worcester  Turnpike,  about  where 
the  police  station  at  Roxbury  Crossing  now  frowns  upon  evildoers. 
When  the  Boston  and  Providence  Railroad  was  located  the  surveys 
started  from  this  same  Wait's  Mills,  of  which  not  a  suggestion  exists 
to-day.  Stony  Brook  itself  has  disappeared,  being  now  carried  for  sev- 
eral miles  in  an  underground  conduit,  through  which  it  flows  for  the 
balance  of  its  journey  after  reaching  Forest  Hills. 

The  object  of  this  turnpike  effort  was  clearly  to  relieve  the  congestion 
which  must  have  existed,  even  at  that  early  date,  on  Washington  Street, 
the  only  free  road  into  Boston,  and  the  only  road  of  any  kind  over  which 
travelers  from  the  westerly  part  of  Dorchester,  Roxbury,  West  Rox- 
bury, Dedham,  or  Brookline  could  enter  the  town. 

This  turnpike  would  have  been  only  fifty-seven  hundred  feet  long, 
and  the  low  rate  of  tolls  which  could  have  been  exacted  for  so  short  a 
distance  could  never  have  paid  a  dividend  on  the  expensive  cost  of 
construction.  Then,  too,  there  were  plans  already  prepared  for  the 
extension  of  streets  throughout  this  section,  and  the  opportunities  for 
"  shunpiking  "  would  have  been  too  many  within  a  few  years.  It  is 
quite  possible  that  this  project  was  fostered  by  the  Worcester  Turnpike 
Corporation,  as  it  would  have  given  that  road  a  better  entrance  to 
Boston,  and  relieved  it  of  the  troublesome  section  over  the  ancient  road. 

On  the  same  day  the  Worcester  and  Sutton  Turnpike  Corporation 
was  given  the  privilege  of  building  a  turnpike  in  the  town  of  Sutton,  to 
connect  over  an  existing  county  road,  with  Worcester.  Just  where  this 
company  expected  to  build  is  not  clear  to  one  not  acquainted  with  the 
residents  of  Sutton  a  century  ago,  and  since  we  have  the  authority  of 
Lincoln's  "  History  of  Worcester  "  that  the  road  was  never  commenced, 
we  will  not  delve  deeper  into  the  question. 

Among  the  few  writers  who  have  touched  upon  turnpikes  the  ex- 
pressions of  the  "  mania  "  or  "  craze  "  for  turnpike  investments  have 
been  almost  stereotyped.  While  such  expressions  are  unjust  if  generally 
applied,  it  must  be  admitted  that  any  money  invested  in  the  Woburn 
Turnpike  Road  and  Dracut  Bridge  Corporation,  chartered  March  6, 
1 8 10,  could,  have  been  attributed  to  such  emotions.  The  gentlemen 
behind  this  enterprise  proposed  to  build  about  sixteen  miles  of  road, 
with  an  extensive  and  costly  bridge  over  the  Merrimac  River,  to  tap 

1  "The  Town  of  Roxbury,"  Francis  S.  Drake. 

[185] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

that  El  Dorado  of  turnpike  promoters,  the  southern  part  of  New  Hamp- 
shire. Such  a  charter  would  never  be  issued  to-day,  both  on  account 
of  the  protection  accorded  to  public  utilities  already  established,  and  the 
paternalism  which  does  not  allow  useless  projects  to  be  exploited  on  the 
public. 

As  a  turnpike  proposition  alone  it  would  not  have  been  advisable,  for 
it  reached  for  the  same  region  that  was  already  served  by  the  Middle- 
sex and  by  the  Essex  turnpikes,  and  proposed  to  practically  parallel 
those  two  roads  at  a  distance  of  about  five  miles  from  each,  while  the 
total  business  was  not  enough  to  repay  the  investments  already  made. 
But  in  addition  to  the  turnpike  it  was  proposed  to  build  a  bridge  which 
the  legislature  required  should  be  at  least  twenty-two  feet  wide,  and 
which  should  have  one  clear  span  of  not  less  than  one  hundred  and  ten 
feet  over  the  channel  of  the  river. 

Evidently  somebody  had  faith  in  the  project  for  it  was  kept  alive,  by 
successive  acts  extending  the  time  limit,  until  February,  1823,  when 
it  finally  lapsed. 

The  Tyringham  and  Sandisfield  Turnpike  Corporation  was  incorpo- 
rated February  12,  1811,  to  open  communication  between  the  Housa- 
tonic  River  Turnpike  in  Lee  and  the  center  of  Sandisfield,  passing 
through  Lee,  Tyringham,  Otis,  and  Sandisfield.  The  location  was  duly 
made,  according  to  the  Berkshire  records,  in  18 12,  but  no  other  records 
have  been  found.  The  incorporation  of  the  Clam  River  Turnpike 
Corporation  thirty  years  later,  with  a  route  practically  the  same  as  the 
one  granted  this  company,  shows  that  the  need  of  improved  roads  in 
that  section  had  not  been  met,  and  confirms  our  belief  that  the  Tyring- 
ham and  Sandisfield  is  another  of  the  "  never-was  "  class. 


THE    GREAT   BARRINGTON   AND   ALFORD   TURNPIKE 

One  other  company,  the  Great  Barrington  and  Alford  Turnpike 
Corporation,  was  incorporated  in  181 1  on  June  25.  This  company 
apparently  built  its  road  from  the  county  road  at  the  northerly  end  of 
the  Fifteenth  Massachusetts  Turnpike,  in  Great  Barrington,  to  the  New 
York  line,  circling  around  the  easterly  and  southerly  side  of  Monument 
Mountain,  and  running  westerly  by  Jacob  Van  Deusen's  house,  and 
south  of  Long  Pond,  and  far  enough  into  Alford  to  enable  it  to  turn 
a  corner  in  that  town;  thence  southwesterly  across  the  town  of  Egre- 
mont,  passing  through  North  Egremont  Village  and  south  of  Prospect 
Lake,  and  heading,  at  its  westerly  terminus,  for  the  village  of  Hudson 
on  the  Hudson  River  in  the  state  of  New  York.  _  , 

The  road  described  was  about  nine  and  a  half  miles  in  length,  and 
cost,  according  to  the  return  at  the  state  house,  $8798.71,  or  about 
$925  a  mile.  The  location  was  made  and  the  road  built  in  1 8 1 2,  accord- 
[186] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

ing  to  the  Berkshire  records,  and  an  old  road  was  discontinued  as  a 
public  highway  on  account  of  the  turnpike  having  absorbed  it. 

Returns  of  business  done  were  filed  for  one  year  only,  1815,  in 
which  year  the  net  earnings  were  $169.41,  or  a  trifle  less  than  two  per 
cent  on  the  cost  of  the  road. 

A  portion  of  the  turnpike  in  Great  Barrington  was  made  free  on 
petition  of  the  corporation,  April  26,  1831,  the  balance  becoming  a  part 
of  the  public  road  system  in  1846.  Apparently  the  corporation  was  not 
the  moving  party  at  the  latter  date,  for  the  records  show  that  it  made 
petition  for  a  jury  to  estimate  the  compensation  to  be  awarded  it  for  the 
loss  of  its  privileges.  The  petition  was  refused  and  the  Great  Barring- 
ton  and  Alford  passed  into  public  management. 

Only  one  ambition  was  given  a  chance  in  181 2,  that  being  the  hope 
of  the  Worcester  and  Leicester  Turnpike  Corporation,  which  was 
launched  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  February.  The  contemplated  road  was 
to  connect  the  adjoining  towns  named,  and  would  have  been  but  a  short 
one.  To  the  observer  looking  backward  this  appears  to  have  been  a 
promising  scheme,  but  we  have  the  assurance  of  Lincoln's  "  History  of 
Worcester  "  that  construction  was  never  commenced. 

The  lone  effort  of  18 13  fared  no  better,  for  the  Taunton  and  Digh- 
ton  Turnpike  Corporation,  created  February  27,  has  left  no  record  of 
any  work  accomplished.  This  company  proposed  more  than  its  name 
indicates,  for  it  was  the  intention  to  build  a  road  from  Taunton  to 
Warren,  Rhode  Island,  "  so  far  as  this  Commonwealth  extends."  Evi- 
dently there  has  never  been  a  crying  need  .for  a  road  along  such  lines, 
for  none  has  yet  been  built,  but  so  many  of  the  turnpikes  are  to-day 
grass-grown  paths  that  we  will  not  offer  that  in  criticism  of  the  pro- 
jectors of  the  Taunton  and  Dighton. 

The  Sixteenth  Massachusetts,  incorporated  in  1803,  had  made  a 
long-continued  effort  to  build  its  road,  a  location  having  been  asked  and 
granted  as  late  as  1812.  But  apparently  hope  had  given  out,  for  we 
find  the  Granville  and  Tolland  Turnpike  Corporation  allowed,  on  June 
13,  1 8 14,  to  build  a  road  "on  the  route  which  the  Sixteenth  Massachu- 
setts Turnpike  Corporation  contemplated,"  etc. 

The  route  proposed  by  these  two  companies  extended  from  that  part 
of  West  Springfield  which  is  now  Agawam,  through  Southwick,  Gran- 
ville, and  Tolland,  to  a  junction  with  the  road  of  the  Fifteenth  Massa- 
chusetts in  Sandisfield.  The  Sixteenth,  however,  had  the  right  to  go  a 
little  farther  and  to  reach  the  Twelfth  Massachusetts  Turnpike  in 
Sheffield. 

The  difficulties  which  prevented  the  building  of  the  Sixteenth,  were 
great  enough  to  have  the  same  effect  upon  the  Granville  and  Tolland, 
for  we  find  no  record  of  anything  being  done  by  that  company. 

[187] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

Up  to  this  time  the  territorial  rights  of  any  established  company, 
when  protected  at  all,  had  been  guarded  by  a  provision  requiring  a 
division  of  tolls  with  the  invaded  road,  but  in  the  charter  of  the  Wren- 
tham  and  Attleboro  Turnpike  Corporation,  granted  June  14,  18 14, 
a  new  method  was  adopted.  This  company  was  to  build  a  road  from 
Wrentham  meeting-house  to  the  line  of  Cumberland,  Rhode  Island,  and 
it  was  forbidden  to  build 

in  any  place  east  of  an  air  line  from  the  meeting-house  in  said  first  parish  in 
Wrentham,  to  the  west  side  of  the  dwelling-house  of  John  Fales,  in  the  west  corner 
of  Attleborough. 

The  line  described  practically  paralleled  the  Norfolk  and  Bristol  Turn- 
pike at  a  distance  of  a  little  less  than  two  miles,  and  on  its  westerly  side. 
No  road  was  ever  built  under  this  charter. 


THE    MILL    DAM 

Although  not  a  turnpike  corporation,  the  Boston  and  Roxbury  Mill 
Corporation,  chartered  June  14,  18 14,  had  authority  to  do  a  turnpike 
business  on  the  mill  dam  which  it  was  to  construct,  and  it  did  operate 
one  of  the  most  important  toll  roads  for  many  years. 

This  corporation  was  organized  primarily  for  the  purpose  of  im- 
pounding the  tidal  waters  in  the  basin  known  as  the  Back  Bay,  which 
lay  on  the  westerly  side  of  the  original  Boston  peninsular,  and  by  draw- 
ing off  the  same  during  low-water  periods,  to  derive  power  for  manu- 
facturing purposes.  To  accomplish  this  the  corporation  was  authorized 
to  build  a  dam  from  the  present  corner  of  Beacon  and  Charles  streets, 
in  Boston,  to  the  upland  in  Brookline  at  Sewalls'  Point,  with  two  other 
dams  tending  to  turn  the  water  through  the  sluices  provided  in  the  main 
dam.  This  latter  was  to  be  not  less  than  forty-two  feet  wide  on  the  top, 
and  was  to  be  provided  with  locks  sufficient  in  size  to  pass  rafts  of  logs 
and  lumber  containing  not  over  ten  thousand  feet.  The  capitalization 
of  the  corporation  was  not  to  be  over  two  million  dollars. 

The  turnpike  provision  was  found  in  section  three  of  the  act  of  in- 
corporation, which  read: 

Be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  said  Corporation  shall  have  power  to  make  and 
finish  the  dam,  in  this  Act  first  mentioned  and  connect  the  different  parts  thereof 
by  bridges  and  causeways,  so  as  to  render  the  same  a  good  and  substantial  road,  suit- 
able for  the  passing  of  men,  loaded  teams,  carts,  and  carriages  of  all  kinds,  and  shall 
open  a  road  not  more  than  eighty  feet  and  not  less  than  forty-two  feet  wide,  from 
some  point  of  said  Dam,  where  it  crosses  the  marshes  in  Brookline,  to  the  end  of  the 
Worcester  Turnpike,  near  the  Punch  Bowl  Tavern,  so  called,  in  said  Brookline, 
which  road  shall  be  made  in  a  straight  line,  as  nearly  as  can  be  done  with  conven- 
ience; and  when  the  road  on  said  Dam  shall  be  finished,  railed  at  the  sides,  and 
furnished  with  lamps  to  the  satisfaction  of  the  Selectmen  of  Boston,  the  said  Cor- 
poration may  receive  toll  for  passing  over  the  same,  at  the  same  rate  which  is  now 
granted  to  the  Proprietors  of  the  West  Boston  Bridge. 
[188] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF  MASSACHUSETTS 


A  provision  that  no  tolls  should  be  collected  until  two  of  the  dams  were 
completed  was  amended  two  years  later,  when  it  was  enacted  that  toll 
might  be  collected  whenever  either  of  the  dams  was  finished  sufficiently 
to  yield  a  power  equal  to  that  required  to  turn  twenty  pair  of  common 
millstones,  one  half  of  which  power  was  to  be  actually  in  use. 

"  Boston's  Growth,"  a  pamphlet  published  by  the  State  Street  Trust 
Company,  tells  us  that  work  was  commenced  on  the  main  dam  in  June, 
1814,  but  Winship's  "Historical  Brighton"  gives  the  date  as  1818. 
The  dam  was  built  along  the  line  of  the  present  Beacon  Street  from  the 
corner  of  Charles  Street  to  the  junction  with  what  is  now  known  as 
Brookline  Avenue  and  Commonwealth  Avenue;  and  Brookline  Avenue 
was  built  by  the  Mill  Corporation  from  the  end  of  its  dam  at  Sewalls' 
Point  to  the  Punch  Bowl  Tavern,  on  the  Worcester  Turnpike,  as  re- 
quired in  its  charter.  According  to  "  Boston's  Growth,"  the  construc- 
tion of  this  mill  dam  furnishes  the  first  record  of  the  importation  of  Irish 
laborers.  The  required  stone  was  obtained  from  the  quarries  on  the 
adjacent  Parker  Hill,  and  the  completion  was  made  the  occasion  of  a 
civic  celebration  comprising  a  parade  and  a  reception  by  the  town 
fathers. 

The  importance  of  the  turnpike  provided  by  this  improvement  can 
be  readily  appreciated  by  reference  to  the  map.  Previously  the  only 
access  to  Boston  by  land  had  been  over  the  Dorchester  Turnpike  and 
the  bridge  in  South  Boston;  over  the  Neck,  along  the  present  Washing- 
ton Street;  and  over  the  West  Boston  Bridge  which  connected  the  me- 
tropolis with  Cambridge.  Hence  the  large  territory  occupied  by  Wal- 
tham^  Newton,  and  the  country  behind  them  had  been  obliged  to  make 
the  wide  detour  either  through  Cambridge  or  Roxbury,  while  over  the 
new  Mill  Dam  Road  its  inhabitants  could  make  a  direct  trip  to  the 
center  of  Boston.  Naturally,  as  the  operation  of  a  toll  road  was  but 
an  incidental  item  in  the  larger  scheme,  and  since  the  length  of  the  road 
was  so  slight,  the  allowed  tolls  were  not  to  be  like  those  on  more  ex- 
tended turnpikes.  We  have  seen  that  tolls  at  the  same  rate  as  allowed 
on  West  Boston  Bridge  were  to  be  collected,  so  let  us  look  at  the  charter 
of  that  corporation.  The  proprietors  of  the  West  Boston  Bridge  were 
incorporated  March  6,  1792,  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  bridge  be- 
tween Cambridge  and  Boston,  on  the  site  of  the  present  monumental 
Cambridge  Bridge.  Three  hundred  pounds  a  year,  later  reduced  to 
two  hundred,  was  to  be  paid  to  Harvard  College  for  assistance  of  needy 
students.    Tolls  were  to  be  collected  as  follows : 

Eacli  foot  passenger  or  one  person  passing,  2/3  of  a  penny. 

Single  horse  cart,  sled,  or  sleigh,  4  pence. 

One  person  and  horse,  2  pence,  2/3  of  a  penny. 

Each  wheelbarrow,  hand  cart,  and  every  other  vehicle  capable  of  carrying  like 

weight,  I-1/3  penny. 
Each  single  horse  and  chaise,  chair,  or  sulkey,  8  pence. 
Coaches,  chariots,  phaetons,  and  curricles,  1  shilling. 

[189] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

All  other  wheeled  carriages  or  sleds  drawn  by  more  than  one  horse,  6  pence. 

Sleighs  drawn  by  more  than  one  beast,  6  pence. 

Neat  horses  or  cattle  exclusive  of  those  rode  or  in  carriages  or  teams,  I— 1/3 

penny  each. 
Swine  and  sheep,  4  pence  per  dozen  and  proportionally. 

The  dam  was  completed,  and  the  road  opened  for  travel  July  2,  1821, 
and  at  once  became  a  most  important  avenue  into  Boston.  It  was  con- 
sidered one  of  the  grandest  constructions  in  the  world.  The  sides  of 
the  dam  were  built  of  solid  stone  for  eight  thousand  feet  in  length,  from 
three  to  eight  feet  in  thickness  and  twelve  to  seventeen  feet  high,  while 
the  width  between  the  walls  varied  from  fifty  to  one  hundred  feet.1  The 
material  was  the  local  pudding  stone  of  Roxbury  and  granite  from  Wey- 
mouth. Over  a  mile  was  saved  for  the  travelers  over  the  Worcester 
Turnpike  by  turning  off  at  the  Punch  Bowl  Tavern  and  taking  the  Mill 
Corporation's  road  to  the  Mill  Dam,  and  thence  into  Boston,  which  was 
undoubtedly  the  cause  of  the  Worcester  company's  being  willing  in 
1826  to  pay  the  town  of  Roxbury  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  in  con- 
sideration of  being  released  from  obligation  to  maintain  its  road  east- 
erly of  the  point  of  diversion.  This  Punch  Bowl  Tavern  was  an  ancient 
hostelry  and  stood  in  Brookline  for  many  years,  between  the  present 
Brookline  Avenue  and  Pearl  Street  on  Washington  Street.  Another 
turnpike  was  soon  projected,  which  led  from  the  westerly  end  of  the 
Mill  Dam  to  Watertown,  an  improvement  rendered  practicable  only 
by  the  opening  of  the  Mill  Dam. 

A  new  corporation  was  created  in  1824,  the  Boston  Water  Power 
Company,  which  took  over  all  the  holdings  of  the  Mill  Corporation 
south  of  the  dam  in  1832;  the  dam,  road,  and  all  holdings  on  the  north 
side  remaining  with  the  original  company.  As  an  enterprise  for  the 
development  of  power,  these  projects  were  not  phenomenally  successful, 
but  the  subsequent  filling  of  the  Back  Bay  and  the  proceeds  from  sales 
of  land  made  the  investment  most  lucrative. 

June  9,  1854,  the  corporation  made  an  indenture  with  the  Common- 
wealth of  Massachusetts  by  which  it  was  agreed,  among  many  other 
matters,  that  the  corporation  should  convey  to  the  Commonwealth  the 
land  covered  by  the  Mill  Dam  "  to  be  forever  kept  open  as  a  public 
highway,"  but  the  agreement  was  not  carried  out  for  several  years.  In 
1856  it  was  enacted  that  the  Mill  Corporation  might  continue  to  collect 
tolls  on  the  Mill  Dam  at  the  same  rate  as  allowed  on  the  West  Boston 
Bridge,  which  rate  had  been  reenacted  and  expressed  in  American  cur- 
rency. In  1 86 1  the  commissioners  of  public  lands  were  authorized  to 
arrange  with  the  corporation  about  continuing  the  collection  of  tolls, 
which  was  to  be  done  until  the  road  was  laid  out  as  a  public  highway  by 
the  county  officials.  This  occurred  on  December  7,  1868,  when  the 
Boston  Board  of  Aldermen  accepted  the  road  as  a  public  highway. 

Under  the  management  of  the  Mill  Corporation  the  Mill  Dam  Road 

1  "  History  of  the  Granite  Industry  in  New  England,"  Brayley. 
[190] 


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PL, 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

had  been  known  as  Western  Avenue  until  1865.  Since  that  time  it  has 
borne  the  name  of  Beacon  Street. 

The  Mill  Corporation  followed  the  usual  custom  in  locating  its  toll- 
house and  gate  and  placed  the  same  on  the  bridge  over  the  main  channel. 
Its  site  is  now  occupied  by  the  parkway  called  Charles-gate. 

In  1824  various  parties,  acting  in  the  interests  of  the  Mill  Corpora- 
tion, secured  a  charter  for  a  turnpike  to  connect  the  westerly  end  of  the 
Mill  Dam  with  Watertown.  This  road,  which  will  be  treated  more  at 
length  in  its  turn,  caused  a  panic  in  the  minds  of  the  proprietors  of  the 
West  Boston  Bridge  who  foresaw  a  serious  diversion  of  traffic  from 
their  bridge,  and  they  sought  to  offset  the  advantage  thus  gained  over 
them  by  building  a  turnpike  of  their  own.  This  latter  turnpike,  being 
built  purely  as  a  feeder  for  the  bridge,  made  no  claims  of  being  a  public 
necessity,  which  later  gave  rise  to  some  unique  legal  questions. 

The  history  of  the  larger  operations  of  the  Mill  Corporation  and 
of  the  Boston  Water  Power  Company  is  especially  interesting  to  the 
student  of  Boston's  development.  The  ebb  and  flow  of  the  tidal  waters 
in  the  ponded  area  soon  gave  rise  to  serious  and  unhealthy  conditions, 
and  many  were  the  efforts  to  adjust  between  the  public  good  and  the 
corporate  rights.  It  was  finally  settled  that  the  entire  area  was  to  be 
filled  with  clean  gravel,  while  satisfactory  sewers  were  to  be  laid,  and 
the  resulting  land  was  to  be  divided  between  the  state  and  the  two 
corporations.  The  filling  was  done  between  the  years  1857  and  1894, 
the  gravel  being  hauled  in  over  the  Boston  and  Providence  and  the 
Boston  and  Albany  railroads,  and  distributed  over  spur  tracks  laid  in 
all  directions  over  the  area.  A  large  excavated  pit  can  still  be  seen  near 
Dedham  Road  Station  of  the  Boston  and  Providence  Railroad,  which 
supplied  much  of  the  gravel. 

The  West  Stockbridge  and  Alford  Turnpike  Corporation  was  in- 
corporated February  16,  18 18,  to  carry  out  the  plans  which  the  Alford 
and  West  Stockbridge  had  abandoned.  It  may  be  remembered  that  the 
latter  company  had  a  franchise  to  build  from  the  line  of  Hillsdale,  New 
York,  to  the  Housatonic  River  Turnpike  in  Stockbridge.  But  since  the 
granting  of  that  privilege  the  Alford  and  Egremont  Turnpike  had 
been  completed,  crossing  that  route  near  the  New  York  line,  so  the 
route  granted  by  the  charter  under  present  consideration  commenced  at 
that  turnpike  instead  of  at  the  New  York  boundary.  Another  variation 
from  the  old  route  was  that  the  last  company  was  to  connect  with  the 
Housatonic  River  Turnpike  in  West  Stockbridge  instead  of  in  Stock- 
bridge.  Although  the  location  for  this  road  was  made  under  authority 
of  the  Berkshire  county  court  in  1818,  it  does  not  appear  that  any 
building  was  ever  done. 

An  act  passed  June  16,  1820,  created  a  corporation  without  giving 
it  a  name,  but  it  was  known  as  the  company  intending  to  build  the  Wil- 

[191] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

braham  Turnpike.  Although  this  company  never  carried  out  its  plans, 
it  is  interesting  to  consider  its  aims.  The  northern  route  between  Boston 
and  New  York,  we  have  previously  observed,  passed  over  the  First 
Massachusetts  Turnpike,  through  the  towns  of  Western,  Palmer,  and 
Wilbraham,  to  Springfield,  where  it  followed  the  old  post  road  down  the 
valley  of  the  Connecticut  River  to  Hartford.  Evidently  the  idea  back 
of  the  Wilbraham  Turnpike  was  to  divert  this  travel  at  the  end  of  the 
First  Massachusetts,  and  to  take  it  southerly  through  the  town  of  Wil- 
braham, which  then  included  the  town  of  Hampden,  to  the  Connecticut 
line  at  Somers.  There  it  would  have  connected  with  the  road  of  a  Con- 
necticut corporation,  the  Tolland  and  Mansfield  Turnpike  Company, 
which  would  have  carried  it  to  Tolland  courthouse,  whence  it  would 
have  reached  Hartford  over  the  Hartford  and  Tolland  Turnpike.  The 
"improvement  by  a  route  going  back  as  far  to  the  east  as  Tolland  court- 
house is  not  obvious,  and  it  is  not  surprising  that  this  project  did  not 
attract  capital. 

THE   BARRE   TURNPIKE 

By  the  year  1820  the  Massachusetts  public  had  generally  understood 
that  turnpike  investments  were  very  unsatisfactory,  and  only  nineteen 
companies  were  incorporated  after  that  date,  ten  of  which  completed 
their  roads.  Of  these  the  Barre  Turnpike  Corporation  was  the  first, 
being  chartered  February  5,  1822,  to  build  a  turnpike  from  Barre  Com- 
mon through  Hubbardston  and  Princeton. 

This  company  filed  no  returns  of  its  business,  but  on  a  plan  of  its 
turnpike  which  was  filed  at  the  state  house,  the  cost  is  given  as  $10,000, 
and  the  length  eleven  miles,  or  about  $910  a  mile.  The  road  of  this 
company  was  laid  out  by  the  authorities  of  Worcester  County  in  1823, 
"  from  Barre  meeting-house,  through  Hubbardston,  to  Edward  Goode- 
now's,  in  Princeton,"  which  apparently  brought  it  within  two  miles  of 
Princeton  Center,  and  on  the  "  Depot  Road."  The  distance  by  the  old 
route  had  been  seventeen  miles,  so  the  turnpike  reduced  the  journey  over 
one  third. 

At  the  opening  of  the  year  1824  the  turnpike  had  not  been  com- 
pleted, for  on  January  28  of  that  year  an  act  was  passed  allowing  the 
erection  of  one  gate  in  Princeton  upon  completion  of  the  road.  But 
construction  soon  followed,  and  in  1826  the  corporation  again  appeared 
at  the  state  house,  this  time  with  a  complaint  regarding  working  con- 
ditions. It  seems  that  the  turnpike  cut  a  straight  line  across  the  big 
letter  "  S  "  of  the  old  road,  and  travelers  were  content  to  cut  off  the  first 
half  circle,  following  the  turnpike  where  no  gate  opposed  them,  and 
then  taking  the  longer  route,  which  kept  out  of  sight  of  the  toll  gatherer. 
So  another  act  was  secured  changing  the  first  gate  to  a  half-gate  and 
allowing  the  erection  of  another  half-gate  on  the  westerly  portion  of 
the  road. 

In  1832  the  Barre  Turnpike  was  laid  out  as  a  public  highway. 

[192] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 


THE    CHESTER   TURNPIKE 

We  have  seen  that  in  the  construction  of  the  Eighth  Massachusetts 
and  the  Becket  turnpikes  considerable  difficulty  was  found  in  selecting 
a  satisfactory  location.  As  finally  built  the  two  roads  made  a  physical 
connection,  but  apparently  that  part  of  the  road  was  poor  and  unsatis- 
factory, for  on  February  14,  1822,  the  Chester  Turnpike  Corporation 
was  chartered  for  the  purpose  of  making  a  better  road  than  the  existing 
turnpikes  afforded,  between  Walton's  Bridge  in  Chester  to  some  in- 
definite point  on  the  Becket  Turnpike.  The  need  of  such  improvement 
must  have  been  urgent,  for  three  years  earlier  the  persons  who  later 
were  incorporated  as  the  Chester  Turnpike  Corporation  had  associated 
themselves  and  had  built  a  section  of  the  road  now  proposed  for  a  turn- 
pike, and  had  had  the  same  accepted  by  the  court  of  common  pleas 
as  a  public  road.  In  1822  they  asked  that  they  might  be  allowed  to 
build  farther  along  the  same  line  and  have  their  former  effort  and  the 
new  one  combined  in  the  Chester  Turnpike.  Their  prayer  being  granted 
the  road  was  at  once  built,  and  the  Eighth  Massachusetts  was  relieved 
from  the  maintenance  of  the  now  useless  part  of  its  road  westerly  of 
Walton's  Bridge. 

This  turnpike  apparently  extended  from  near  the  present  Chester 
post  office  to  the  Becket  line,  and  about  an  equal  distance  into  the  town 
of  Becket.  By  an  act  passed  in  1825  eighty  rods  was  taken  from  its 
west  end  and  annexed  to  the  Becket  Turnpike. 

The  Chester  Turnpike  was  made  free  in  Berkshire  County  in  Sep- 
tember, 1842,  and  in  Hampden  County  in  June,  1843. 


THE   WATERTOWN   TURNPIKE 

Until  the  opening  of  the  road  over  the  Mill  Dam  there  was  no  en- 
trance to  Boston  between  Washington  Street,  on  the  Neck,  and  West 
Boston  Bridge,  but  the  Mill  Dam  Road  opened  a  direct  route  to  and 
from  a  large  number  of  towns,  the  Boston-bound  travel  from  which 
centered  in  Watertown  Square,  and  which  had  previously  followed  as 
best  it  could  over  the  existing  public  roads  to  the  West  Boston  Bridge. 
An  attractive  opportunity  for  another  turnpike  was  thus  offered,  to 
connect  Watertown  Square  with  the  Mill  Dam  Road,  yielding  revenue 
for  itself  and  adding  to  the  earnings  of  the  Mill  Corporation's  road. 

So  the  Watertowii  Turnpike  Corporation  was  created  February  7, 
1824.  While  the  persons  incorporated  are  not  the  same  as  those  form- 
ing the  Mill  Corporation,  it  was  common  knowledge,  as  brought  out  in 
legislative  hearings  in  later  years,  that  the  two  corporations  were  prac- 
tically one.  The  turnpike  was  to  cross  the  Charles  River  close  to  the 
United  States  Arsenal,  and  the  right  to  build  a  bridge  was  conditional 

[193] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

upon  "  the  consent  of  the  proper  authorities  of  the  United  States,  and 
not  otherwise." 

The  road  was  laid  out  by  a  joint  committee  of  the  senate  and  house 
May  i,  1824,  the  report  being  filed  with  the  Middlesex  court  by  which 
it  was  approved  in  the  same  month.  One  tollgate  was  allowed  at  which 
the  same  rate  of  tolls  was  to  be  collected  as  had  been  allowed  at  the 
Bellingham  gate  of  the  Ninth  Massachusetts,  rather  a  lazy  way  of  legis- 
lating. No  returns  were  ever  filed  by  this  company  and  nothing  has 
been  found  to  give  an  idea  of  the  business  done.  But  the  location  was 
a  good  one,  with  populous  towns  to  be  served  and  no  serious  difficulties 
to  impede  construction  or  operation.  Besides  which  the  Brighton 
Abattoir  was  directly  on  this  road,  and  with  the  heavy  business  in  na- 
tive cattle,  which  was  carried  on  years  ago,  must  have  added  materially 
to  a  revenue  which  was  well  fed  from  other  sources. 

Being  a  subsidiary  of  the  Mill  Corporation,  the  road  of  this  company 
was  included  in  the  negotiations  with  the  state  over  the  Back  Bay  con- 
ditions, and  it  was  provided  for,  as  was  the  Mill  Dam  Road,  in  the  act 
passed  April  11,  1861.  Provision  was  made  therein  that  tolls  were  to 
be  collected  until  such  time  as  the  local  authorities  should  accept  the  road 
as  a  public  highway.  This  was  done  by  the  town  of  Brighton  November 
19,  1868,  when  the  road  became  free. 

The  Watertown  Turnpike  was  known  as  Brighton  Avenue  under  the 
Mill  Corporation's  management,  and  was  named  Avenue  Street  by  the 
town  of  Brighton  in  1840,  although  it  was  not  a  town  road.  Similarly 
it  was  named  Beacon  Street  in  1 846,  and  again  changed  to  North  Beacon 
Street  in  i860.  To-day,  commencing  at  the  end  of  the  old  Mill  Dam, 
the  road  is  known  as  Commonwealth  Avenue,  then  Brighton  Avenue, 
and  then  North  Beacon  Street  through  the  Brighton  section  of  Boston 
and  through  Watertown. 

It  is  a  busy  and  much-used  thoroughfare  and  makes  a  striking  con- 
trast with  most  of  the  other  turnpikes,  whose  projectors  did  not  so 
accurately  foresee  the  tendencies  of  transportation. 

THE   CENTRAL   TURNPIKE 

It  is  hard  to  understand  how  in  1824,  when  turnpikes  had  generally 
fallen  into  disrepute  as  investments,  a  comprehensive  scheme  for  con- 
necting Boston  and  Hartford  could  have  been  exploited.  But  such  was 
done,  and  the  Central  Turnpike  Corporation  was  incorporated  on  the 
twelfth  of  June  in  that  year  to  build  from  a  point  on  the  Worcester 
Turnpike  in  Needham  through  Natick,  Framingham,  Hopkinton, 
Upton,  Northbridge,  Sutton,  Oxford,  and  Dudley  to  the  Connecticut 
line  in  the  town  of  Thompson.  The  Center  Turnpike  Company  was 
incorporated  in  Connecticut  in  May,  1826,  to  build  from  the  Tolland 
courthouse  through  Willington,  Ashford,  Union,  and  Woodstock  to 
the  Massachusetts  line  in  Dudley,  where  it  connected  with  the  road  of 
[194] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 


the  Central  Turnpike  Corporation.  From  Tolland  to  Hartford  the 
turnpike  had  been  in  existence  for  a  quarter  of  a  century. 

Thus  was  opened  another  improved  route  from  Boston  to  Hartford 
over  which  passed  the  "  Boston  and  Hartford  Telegraph  line "  of 
stagecoaches  in  alternate  direction  daily,  except  Sundays.  One  tollgate 
stood  in  Wellesley  on  the  north  side  of  the  road  opposite  Morse's  Pond 
and  about  six  hundred  feet  from  the  Natick  line. 

The  road  was  laid  out  in  Middlesex  County  in  January,  1826,  and 
in  Worcester  County  at  about  the  same  time,  but  the  construction  did 
not  progress  rapidly,  for  we  find  that  it  was  not  quite  finished  when 
the  time  limit  approached.  June  II,  1829,  the  legislature  granted  the 
corporation  a  further  time  of  four  months  in  which  to  finish  the  road, 
and  an  act  passed  March  5,  1830,  plainly  shows  that  it  was  completed, 
as  it  speaks  of  the  road  "  as  now  made  and  traveled." 

The  map  filed  in  1830  by  the  town  of  Needham  shows  that  the  Cen- 
tral Turnpike  commenced  near  the  present  center  of  Wellesley,  and  not 
on  the  Worcester  Turnpike.  The  act  of  1830,  just  mentioned,  recites 
that  the  layout  committee  had  made  some  slight  changes  in  the  location, 
which  were  approved,  and  this  was  doubtless  one  of  them.  Starting, 
then,  to-day  from  the  Square  in  Wellesley,  the  old  turnpike  would  be 
followed  westerly  over  Central  Street  along  the  northerly  side  of  the 
grounds  of  Wellesley  College,  over  East  and  West  Central  streets  in 
Natick,  Waverley  Street  in  Framingham,  Union  Avenue  in  Ashland, 
Main  Street  in  Hopkinton,  Oxford,  and  Sutton,  and  Sutton  Road  in 
Webster. 

This  is  one  of  the  shortest-lived  roads  that  we  have  noted.  As  stated, 
it  was  opened  about  1830,  and  in  January,  1836,  upon  petition  of  the 
corporation  itself,  was  laid  out  as  a  public  highway  throughout  its 
length  in  Middlesex  County.  The  portion  in  Northbridge,  Upton,  and 
Sutton  was  made  free  in  the  same  year;  that  in  Dudley  in  1838;  while 
the  last  tolls  were  collected  in  Douglas  and  Webster  in  1839,  which  put 
a  period  on  the  Central's  operations. 

No  financial  returns  are  available,  but  from  the  above  it  is  evident 
that  the  road  was  a  failure. 

The  Connecticut  connection  continued  operations  until  1853. 


TURNPIKE   FROM   CAMBRIDGE   TO   WATERTOWN 

We  have  already  seen  how  the  persons  composing  the  Boston  and 
Roxbury  Mill  Corporation,  upon  the  completion  of  their  Mill  Dam  with 
its  road,  built  another  road  by  which  the  travel  which  centered  in  Water- 
town  Square  was  invited  to  use  the  Mill  Dam  for  its  entrance  into 
Boston.  Previously  all  persons  thus  inclined  had  found  their  only 
practicable  route  through  Cambridge  and  over  the  West  Boston  Bridge, 
which  connected  Cambridgeport  with  Boston's  West  End.    The  revenue 

[195] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

from  the  bridge  tolls,  although  quite  remunerative,  was  evidently  not 
sufficiently  so  that  the  proprietors  could  view  the  loss  of  this  Water- 
town  travel  with  unconcern.  So  in  order  to  retain  as  much  of  that 
business  as  possible  the  bridge  proprietors  sought  and  obtained  a  charter 
to  build  a  turnpike  of  their  own,  which  should  lead,  not  from  the  Mill 
Dam,  but  from  their  own  bridge  to  Watertown  Square.  The  route  was 
first  surveyed  by  William  Taylor,  and  his  plan,  dated  May  6,  1824, 
now  in  the  possession  of  the  Bostonian  Society,  shows  the  route  "  from 
the  pump  in  Watertown  to  Cambridge,  on  the  way  to  the  pump  in  Dock 
Square."  We  have  seen  roads  laid  out  by  churches,  by  taverns,  and  by 
dwelling-houses,  but  this  is  the  first  instance  of  a  road  being  built  be- 
tween pumps.  The  charter  for  this  road  was  granted  June  12,  1824, 
and  allowed  it  to  be  built  through  the  towns  of  Cambridge,  Brighton, 
and  Watertown,  with  two  bridges  over  the  navigable  waters  of  the 
Charles  River.  As  the  Watertown  Turnpike  skirted  the  Arsenal 
grounds  on  the  southerly  side  so  this  turnpike  did  on  the  north,  and  the 
two  rapidly  converged  as  they  approached  their  goal  in  Watertown 
Square.  Plainly  there  was  no  crying  need  of  this  road  from  the  public's 
point  of  view.  The  Mill  Dam  Road  and  its  subsidiary  were  giving 
ample  service,  and  the  old  public  roads  of  Cambridge  were  still  avail- 
able. It  was  simply  and  plainly  a  feeder  for  the  West  Boston  Bridge, 
hence  certain  provisions  in  the  charter,  which  have  not  been  observed  in 
those  of  earlier  companies,  were  inserted.  These  were  that  the  towns 
of  Watertown,  Cambridge,  and  Brighton  should  never  "  be  compelled 
to  support  any  part  of  said  road  or  bridges  without  their  own  consent." 
Of  this  much  was  to  be  heard  thirty-five  years  later.  A  further  provi- 
sion was  that  the  road  could  only  be  laid  through  land  "bounding  on 
the  old  road  or  square  in  Watertown,"  with  the  consent  of  the  owners. 
If  the  new  turnpike  had  been  a  public  necessity  it  would  have  been  em- 
powered to  take  the  land. 

The  road  was  promply  built  but,  although  allowed  to  collect  the 
same  tolls  as  were  granted  to  the  Watertown  Turnpike,  no  gate  was 
ever  erected,  and  the  owners  never  availed  themselves  of  the  privilege. 
In  this  we  see  a  parallel  with  the  case  of  the  First  Cumberland  Turn- 
pike, which  was  leased  by  the  owners  of  Vaughn's  Bridge  so  that  they 
might  make  it  free  of  toll  and  a!  better  feeder  for  the  bridge.  The  road 
thus  built  was  four  and  one  tenth  miles  in  length,  of  which  3918  feet 
in  Brighton  was  laid  over  an  old  county  road.  To-day  the  road  is 
known  as  Western  Avenue  in  Cambridge  and  Brighton,  and  as  Arsenal 
Street  in  Watertown.  It  commenced  in  Cambridge,  on  Main  Street, 
2647  feet  westerly  of  the  intersection  with  the  causeway  of  the  West 
Boston  Bridge,  so  that  except  for  that  half  mile,  the  proprietors  of  the 
West  Boston  Bridge  built  and  maintained  a  continuous  highway  from 
Boston  to  Watertown. 

As  already  stated,  the  proprietors  of  the  West  Boston  Bridge  were 
incorporated  March  6,  1792,  and  their  bridge  was  opened  for  traffic 
[196] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF  MASSACHUSETTS 

November  23,  1793.  In  1846  long-continued  agitation,  looking  to  the 
abolition  of  tolls  on  the  Boston  to  Cambridge  bridges,  culminated  in  the 
incorporation  of  the  Hancock  Free  Bridge  Corporation,  which  was  or- 
ganized for  the  purpose  of  purchasing  the  bridges  and  continuing  to 
operate  them  as  toll  bridges  until  the  purchase  price  was  repaid.  Then 
a  fund  was  to  be  accumulated  sufficient  to  provide  for  the  maintenance, 
after  which  the  bridges  were  to  become  public  property.  The  Hancock 
Free  Bridge  Corporation,  on  July  1,  1846,  purchased  the  franchises 
and  property  of  the  proprietors  of  the  West  Boston  Bridge  for  seventy- 
five  thousand  dollars,  the  deed  expressly  including  the  turnpike  to 
Watertown.  In  1852  the  turnpike  had  fallen  into  such  a  bad  condition 
that  an  indictment  was  secured  against  the  Hancock  Free  Bridge  Corpo- 
ration, its  owners.  In  answer  to  this  the  corporation  denied  the  owner- 
ship and  claimed  that  the  deed  from  the  proprietors  of  the  West  Boston 
Bridge  conveyed  only  the  bridge  structure  extending  from  shore  to 
shore,  but  the  supreme  court,1  in  1854,  decided  that  the  corporation 
did  own  the  turnpike  and  was  bound  to  keep  it  in  repair.  Apparently 
the  corporation  found  means  to  evade  its  responsibilities  even  after  that, 
for  we  find  a  competent  witness  testifying  before  a  legislative  hearing 
in  1859,  that  over  ten  thousand  dollars  would  be  required  to  put  into 
proper  condition  the  portion  of  the  turnpike  within  the  limits  of  Water- 
town.    But  before  that  the  effort  had  been  made  to  get  rid  of  the  road. 

May  30,  1857,  the  Hancock  Free  Bridge  Corporation  secured  an  act 
of  the  legislature  by  which  it  was  allowed,  whenever  it  had  the  funds, 
to  pay  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  to  the  city  of  Cambridge,  which, 
in  return,  was  to  assume  full  responsibility  for  the  West  Boston  Bridge 
and  the  one  between  Cambridge  and  Brighton,  taking  them,  with  the 
Cambridge  section  of  the  turnpike,  off  the  corporation's  hands.  By  the 
same  act  it  was  provided  that  the  corporation  was  to  tender  fifty-five 
hundred  dollars  to  the  town  of  Watertown,  and  sixty-five  hundred  dol- 
lars to  the  town  of  Brighton.  Only  that  a  tender  of  money  was  to  be 
made  was  specified;  the  act  did  not  provide  anything  to  be  done  by 
the  towns  in  consideration.  But  whether  the  towns  accepted  the  money 
or  refused  it,  the  Hancock  Free  Bridge  Corporation  was  to  have  what 
it  desired;  it  was  to  be  released  from  liability  to  maintain  the  turnpike. 

Satisfactory  arrangements  were  promptly  made  with  Cambridge, 
and  that  part  of  the  turnpike  became  a  public  road,  for  which  the  city 
was  responsible;  but  Watertown  and  Brighton  viewed  the  proposition 
askance.  July  1,  1857,  a  Watertown  town  meeting  voted  to  refuse  the 
money  which  had  been  tendered  it  by  the  corporation  in  accordance  with 
the  act.  Brighton,  however,  showed  a  little  more  shrewdness.  There 
was  nothing  in  the  act  imposing  any  obligation  on  the  town  if  it  accepted 
the  money,  and  if  it  refused,  the  corporation  got  rid  of  the  road  just 
the  same.     So  the  astute  Brighton  citizens  voted  to  accept  the  money, 

1  2  Gray,  59. 

[197] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

but  specifically  declared  in  the  receipt  which  was  given  therefor  that  they 
did  not  accept  the  road  and  stood  upon  their  rights  as  specified  in  the 
original  charter,  which  provided  that  the  towns  should  "  never  be  com- 
pelled to  support  any  part  of  said  road  or  bridges  without  their  own 
consent." 

So  the  turnpike  became  "  Nobody's  Road  "  in  the  sense  of  anybody 
being  responsible  for  its  maintenance,  but  the  land  over  which  it  was 
built  still  belonged  to  the  Hancock  Free  Bridge  Corporation  in  fee. 
Many  persons  had  bought  land  and  built  houses  along  the  road,  and 
such  a  condition  could  not  last  long,  so,  in  1858,  James  T.  Austin  and 
others  petitioned  the  county  commissioners  for  a  layout  as  a  county  road. 
This  was  resisted  by  both  Watertown  and  Brighton,  and  legal  questions 
were  raised  regarding  the  authority  of  the  commissioners  to  make  a 
layout  under  the  circumstances,  especially  as  the  road  crossed  navigable 
waters  and  provision  had  to  be  made  for  the  care  and  operation  of  two 
drawbridges.  Consequently  the  same  petitioners  next  appealed  to  the 
legislature  for  a  bill  which  would  confer  the  desired  authority  upon 
somebody.  The  committee  on  roads  and  bridges,  to  whom  the  petition 
was  referred,  made  a  lengthy  report,  giving  the  history  of  the  bridges 
and  turnpike  from  the  beginning.  While  conceding  that  the  turnpike 
was  not  at  first  a  public  necessity,  the  committee  logically  concluded  that 
it  had  become  so  by  its  long  use  and  the  establishing  of  homes  upon  its 
sides.  The  resulting  bill,  passed  April  4,  1859,  removed  all  technicali- 
ties and  allowed  the  turnpike  to  become  a  county  highway. 

An  interesting  side  light  is  thrown  upon  legislative  proceedings  by 
the  charter  of  the  Watertown  Turnpike  Corporation  and  the  one  for 
the  West  Boston  Bridge  proprietors'  road.  The  general  law  required 
that  the  location  of  turnpikes  should  be  made  by  disinterested  free- 
holders appointed  by  the  court,  but  the  legislature  in  each  of  these  cases 
took  that  privilege  away  and  conferred  it  upon  a  committee  of  its  own 
body.  These  were  rich  companies,  and  the  returns  of  many  of  the 
turnpike   corporations  give   an  item   for   "  entertainment  of  locating 


committee." 


THE   GORE   TURNPIKE 

A  road  which  would  probably  be  classed  by  the  Interstate  Com- 
merce Commission  as  a  "  spur  to  an  industry  "  was  that  of  the  Gore 
Turnpike  Corporation,  chartered  February  16,  1825.  This  road  was 
evidently  built  as  a  means  of  access  to  Samuel  Slater's  cotton  factory, 
near  the  shore  of  Lake  Chaubunagungamaug,  in  Oxford,  South  Gore, 
now  a  part  of  the  town  of  Webster.  No  details  of  its  business  were  ever 
made  public. 

The  Worcester  County  freeholders  made  the  layout  for  the  turn- 
pike in  1825  from  Douglas  meeting-house  to  Samuel  Slater's  in  Oxford, 
over  what  is  now  Webster  Street  in  Douglas,  and  Douglas  Road  in 
[198] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 


Webster.  Operation  as  a  turnpike  continued  for  sixteen  years,  the 
Worcester  county  commissioners  laying  it  out  as  a  county  highway  in 
1 841.     The  road  was  about  five  and  a  quarter  miles  long. 

Two  more  charters  were  granted  in  1825,  both  on  the  eighteenth  of 
June,  but  no  reason  has  been  found  to  believe  that  a  road  was  built  in 
either  case.  The  companies  were  named  Tolland  and  Otis  Turnpike 
Corporation  and  Sterling  Turnpike  Corporation.  The  Tolland  and 
Otis  did  have  its  location  fixed  by  the  committee  of  Hampden  County 
in  April,  1827,  through  Granville,  Tolland,  and  Blandford,  but  no 
record  of  anything  further  has  been  found. 

THE    PONTOOSAC  TURNPIKE 

Judging  by  the  turnpike  efforts  throughout  the  first  quarter  of  the 
nineteenth  century,  the  need  of  a  road  between  Springfield  and  Pittsfield 
must  have  been  great.  The  Eighth  Massachusetts  first  made  the  at- 
tempt, coming  to  grief,  as  we  have  seen,  on  the  construction  difficulties 
through  the  town  of  Becket.  The  Becket  undertook  to  remedy  the  de- 
fect, but  its  road,  covering  the  portion  omitted  in  the  building  of  the 
Eighth,  offered  too  roundabout  a  route.  The  Chester,  following  in 
1803,  erred  as  much  on  the  northerly  side,  and  its  road  also  was  too  far 
from  the  direct  line.  The  Dalton  and  Middlefield  sought  to  attack  the 
problem  boldly,  but  its  promoters  lacked  the  courage  to  carry  the  project 
through.  The  trouble  was  in  the  exceedingly  rough  and  hilly  nature  of 
the  country  in  that  part  of  the  Berkshires,  which  made  construction  very 
expensive  and  maintenance  difficult  and  costly,  and  for  many  years  no 
feasible  route  was  known. 

Smith's  "History  of  Pittsfield"  tells  us  that,  about  1818,  it  was 
discovered  that  a  good  route  could  be  followed  through  the  "  Pass  of 
the  Westfield,"  along  Westfield  River  to  North  Becket,  and  thence  over 
Washington  Mountain  to  Pittsfield,  but  people  generally  refused  to 
believe  it.  Certain  "  judicious  and  cautious  citizens  "  of  Pittsfield, 
Southwick,  and  Springfield,,  however,  satisfied  themselves  on  that  sub- 
ject, and  on  February  15,  1826,  obtained  a  charter  for  the  Pontoosac 
Turnpike  Corporation,  although,  as  Smith  says,  "  with  few  exceptions, 
turnpike  stocks  were  then  notoriously  worthless." 

The  route  which  this  corporation  was  allowed  started  from  the 
southeast  corner  of  Pittsfield  and  ran  through  the  towns  of  Hinsdale, 
Middlefield,  Washington,  and  Chester,  following  all  the  way  through 
Middlefield  on  the  northerly  bank  of  the  Westfield  River  and  keeping 
close  to  the  same  river  in  Chester,  until  it  reached  the  "  road  leading 
from  Albany  to  Westfield,  at  a  point  near  the  tavern  house  of  Colonel 
Henry."  This  tavern  is  shown  on  Baldwin's  map  of  the  survey  for  the 
railroad  from  Boston  to  Albany,  made  in  1827  and  1828,  and  was 
located  at  the  mouth  of  Walker  Brook,  on  the  westerly  bank  of  the 

[199] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

Westfield  River.  By  this  we  see  that  the  southerly  terminus  of  the 
Pontoosac  Turnpike  was  to  be  directly  across  the  river  from  where  the 
Chester  Station  of  the  Boston  and  Albany  Railroad  is  now. 

That  the  incorporators  of  the  Pontoosac  were  actuated  by  other  mo- 
tives than  hopes  of  financial  profit  is  plainly  to  be  seen.  For  nearly  four 
years  they  postponed  construction,  hoping  that  the  counties  would  under- 
take the  work,  but  Hampshire,  of  which  Middlefield  was  a  part,  bitterly 
opposed  the  plan,  as  it  feared  resultant  diversion  of  trade  to  Spring- 
field. So  the  incorporators  prepared  to  build  the  road  themselves  in 
1829,  first  getting  an  amendment  to  their  charter  by  which  specified 
points  were  omitted,  and  they  were  allowed  to  build  from  Pittsfield  to 
the  conjunction  of  the  Westfield  River  and  Mill  Brook  by  any  route 
they  chose. 

The  quaint  "  History  of  the  County  of  Berkshire,"  to  which  we  have 
frequently  referred,  was  written  about  this  time  and  has  this  to  say  of 
the  Pontoosac: 

As  it  is  to  pass  from  the  easterly  part  of  Pittsfield  through  the  low  parts  of  those 
towns  and  around  the  hills,  the  ascents  will  in  no  place,  it  is  said,  exceed  50, 
although  it  crosses  the  eastern  range  of  hills.  This  road  will  greatly  facilitate  the 
communication  between  the  middle  part  of  the  county  and  the  middle  part  of  the 
Commonwealth  through  Springfield.  A  part  of  this  road  is  located  along  the  line 
of  the  proposed  rail  road. 

At  this  time  the  state  was  intensely  interested  in  the  matter  of  rail- 
road construction,  by  means  of  which  it  was  hoped  to  offset  the  advan- 
tage given  to  New  York  by  the  Erie  Canal,  which  had  been  completed 
about  four  years  and  was  turning  the  increasing  western  trade  to  that 
city.  Surveys  had  been  made  for  roads  from  Boston,  to  Providence  and 
to  Albany,  but  many  people  still  maintained  that  such  methods  of  trans- 
portation were  wild  and  impracticable.  Of  that  class  must  have  been 
the  promoters  of  the  Pontoosac  Turnpike,  for  they  located  and  built 
their  road  for  nearly  ten  miles  along  the  Westfield  River,  where  they 
must  frequently  have  seen  the  stakes  set  by  the  railroad  surveyors  two 
years  or  less  before.  Had  they  not  felt  sure  the  railroad  was  a  wild 
dream  they  would  hardly  have  dared  to  build  their  turnpike  at  all,  much 
less  to  set  it  where  the  later  construction  of  the  more  up-to-date  road 
would  obliterate  much  of  their  work. 

The  route  was  surveyed  early  in  the  life  of  the  charter,  but  not  until 
1829  was  construction  begun,  and  the  road  was  completed  about  Octo- 
ber, 1830.  Hampden  County  seems  to  have  been  the  interested  section, 
with  Berkshire  indifferent,  and  Hampshire  openly  hostile.  On  this 
account  the  incorporators  again  petitioned  the  legislature  and  secured 
the  passage  of  an  act  whereby  the  Hampden  county  commissioners 
were  authorized  to  "  examine,  accept,  and  establish  the  turnpike  road  " 
in  their  own  and  in  two  other  counties.  Consequently  we  fail  to  find 
any  record  of  the  establishing  of  this  road  in  Pittsfield  or  Northampton; 
and  do  find  in  Springfield  a  record  of  the  acceptance  of  the  road  from 
[200] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

Colonel  Henry's  to  Pittsfield,  which  carried  it  through  three  counties. 
This  acceptance  was  made  in  December,  1830,  after  the  road  was  com- 
pleted, and  no  record  has  yet  been  found  of  its  location  in  accordance 
with  the  law.  It  seems  fair  to  assume  that  the  promoters  did  not  aban- 
don the  idea  of  having  the  counties  assume  the  expense  of  building  the 
road  and  take  it  as  a  public  highway  until  they  were  well  along  toward 
its  completion.  Then,  in  order  to  get  back  some  of  their  outlay,  they 
concluded  to  operate  it  as  a  turnpike,  and  having  neglected  to  comply 
with  the  preliminary  formalities  for  turnpikes,  secured  the  act  above 
recited  to  properly  establish  them. 

The  Western  Railroad  Company  was  chartered  by  the  Massachu- 
setts legislature  on  March  15,  1833,  to  build  what  later  became  the  sec- 
tion of  the  Boston  and  Albany  between  Worcester  and  the  state  line. 
By  the  first  of  January,  1837,  its  surveys  had  been  completed  and  much 
of  the  road  was  under  contract.  The  location  had  been  made  through 
the  "  Pass  of  the  Westfield,"  conflicting  with  the  Pontoosac  Turnpike 
in  many  places,  and  in  1839  alterations  were  made  in  the  toll  road  to 
allow  the  railroad  to  be  built. 

No  records  are  known  to  exist  of  the  money  affairs  of  the  Pontoosac, 
but  it  does  not  seem  possible  that  it  ever  could  have  begun  to  pay.  After 
nine  years  the  railroad  came,  and  practically  paralleled  it,  as  well  as 
connecting  the  same  terminal  points,  so  its  life  must  have  been  short. 
Nothing  has  been  found  to  show  when  it  became  free.  In  1 842  a  peti- 
tion was.  entered  in  Berkshire  for  the  discontinuance  of  the  turnpike  and 
the  laying  out  of  the  same  as  a  county  road,  but  it  was  dismissed.  The 
section  of  road  through  the  "  Pass  of  the  Westfield  "  has  now  dis- 
appeared from  the  map,  only  short  stubs  of  roads  showing  at  either  end 
where  corners  were  formerly  made  with  other  roads. 

Travelers  through  the  Berkshires  over  the  Boston  and  Albany  line 
follow  close  to  the  old  road's  path  for  many  miles.  Passing  through  the 
bowl  in  which  lies  the  village  of  Chester,  the  old  Pontoosac  can  be  seen 
on  the  opposite  side  of  the  little  river,  and  running  northerly  from 
Chester's  main  street,  where  it  formerly  terminated.  A  sandy  country 
road  now,  it  keeps  along  close  to  the  railroad  until  the  narrow  semi- 
circular valley  prohibits  the  existence  of  two  distinct  routes  of  transpor- 
tation. At  the  boundary  line  between  Chester  and  Middlefield,  where 
the  steep  slopes  of  Gobble  Mountain  run  straight  into  the  river,  sug- 
gesting unfathomable  depths,  the  old  road  ceases  to  exist,  but  traces 
may  be  seen,  now  on  one  side  and  again  on  the  other,  all  the  way  to 
North  Becket. 

The  Wilkinsonville  Turnpike  Corporation  was  created  March  3, 
1826,  to  build  a  road  from  a  point  in  Westboro,  through  Grafton 
to  the  Wilkinsonville  Factory  in  Sutton,  but  no  records  of  any  work 
done  have  been  found,  and  there  seems  good  reason  for  concluding  that 
no  road  was  built  by  such  a  company. 

[201] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


THE   TAUNTON   AND    PROVIDENCE   TURNPIKE 

The  next  charter  granted  was  for  a  short  road  between  two  thriving 
towns,  the  Taunton  and  Providence  Turnpike  Corporation  being  in- 
corporated on  the  same  third  of  March,  and  authorized  to  build 

from  Taunton  Green,  in  Taunton,  in  the  county  of  Bristol,  in  the  most  convenient 
and  suitable  direction  to  Seelconk  River,  in  said  county,  so  as  to  connect  the  said 
town  of  Taunton  and  the  town  of  Providence,  in  the  state  of  Rhode  Island,  by  the 
most  convenient  and  practicable  route. 

Operations  began  promptly,  as  the  corporation  entered  petition  for 
a  locating  committee  at  the  April  term  of  the  court  of  sessions.  The 
committee  was  appointed  and  performed  its  duties  during  the  summer, 
the  surveying  being  done  by  "  Squire  "  George  Walker,  who  lived  at 
Westville  on  the  line  of  the  proposed  road.  A  full  report  was  rendered 
to  the  court  at  the  September  term  in  1826,  giving  a  complete  surveyor's 
description  of  the  route  and  an  award  of  land  damages.  The  location 
was  1 1.52  miles  in  length,  terminating  at  "  the  northerly  side  of  a  well  " 
which  stood  on  the  easterly  side  of  Watchemocket  Square,  in  what  is 
now  East  Providence,  Rhode  Island.  The  award  for  land  damages 
amounted  to  $7604.92,  or  about  $662  a  mile. 

The  authorized  route  as  fixed  by  the  act  of  incorporation  extended 
from  Taunton  Green  to  the  Seekonk  River,  but  the  locating  committee 
commenced  their  labors  at  a  distance  from  the  Green  of  one  hundred 
and  thirty-five  rods,  starting  from  the  "  northerly  side  of  the  road  lead- 
ing from  the  Green  to  the  Paper  Mill,"  and  they  ended  at  the  well  be- 
fore mentioned,  "  which  is  about  twenty-five  rods  southeasterly  from  the 
easterly  end  of  India  Bridge  at  Seekonk  River." 

A  year  later,  at  the  September  term  of  1827,  the  corporation  made 
a  new  petition,  reciting  that  the  location  did  not  commence  at  the  Green, 
as  required  by  the  charter,  and  that  they  were  afraid  of  illegality  on 
that  account.  Hence  would  the  court  call  back  the  committee  and  have 
them  complete  their  work?  This  was  done  and  the  committee's  report, 
filed  in  May,  1828,  shows  a  location  for  the  turnpike  from  the  easterly 
end  of  its  first  location  to  Taunton  Green,  where  it  ended  at  "  the  south- 
easterly corner  of  the  bar  room  of  George  B.  Atwood."  Then  with 
a  bar  room  at  one  end  and  a  well  at  the  other,  the  corporation  seems  to 
have  rested  content. 

When  it  is  noticed  that  the  original  location  did  not  go  as  far  westerly 
as  the  charter  required,  and  that,  consequently,  if  illegal  at  the  Taunton 
end  it  was  equally  so  at  the  Seekonk  River,  one  may  reasonably  doubt 
if  fears  of  illegality  were  really  at  the  source  of  the  movement.  Taun- 
ton was  an  old  town  and  doubtless  closely  built  around  the  Green.  The 
second  location  covered  a  length  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  rods  and 
the  land  awards  amounted  to  $1437,  or  at  the  rate  of  about  $3400  a 
[202] 


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THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

mile,  and  it  seems  much  more  probable  that  fear  of  this  expense  caused 
the  promoters  to  have  the  location  of  that  part  delayed  until  they  could 
raise  some  more  money. 

The  road  is  conspicuous  on  the  map  to-day  on  account  of  its  direct 
alignment.  It  must  have  been  a  much-needed  road,  and  it  is  strange 
that  it  was  so  late  in  being  built.  It  is  now  a  state  highway  and  is  oc- 
cupied in  part  by  a  high-speed  interurban  electric-car  line  which  could 
not  find  a  more  direct  route.  Since  1826  the  boundary  between  Massa- 
chusetts and  Rhode  Island  has  been  shifted  easterly  from  the  Seekonk 
River,  so  that,  although  the  turnpike  was  entirely  in  Massachusetts  at 
first,  about  two  miles  of  what  was  its  westerly  end  are  now  in  Rhode 
Island,  in  the  town  of  East  Providence. 

At  the  meeting  of  the  county  commissioners  in  June,  1846,  a  petition 
was  presented  signed  by  Charles  F.  Davenport,  of  Davenport  and 
Mason's  express,  and  others  asking  for  a  public  layout  of  the  Taunton 
and  Providence  Turnpike  from  Taunton  Green  to  the  Rev.  Alvan  Cobb's 
meeting-house,  which  was  in  Westville,  about  seven  hundred  feet  from 
the  crossing  of  the  Three  Mile  River.  The  records  show  that  the  road 
was  laid  out  as  asked,  and,  in  December  of  the  same  year,  a  section  in 
Seekonk  became  free  also;  and  in  December,  1849,  tne  portion  between 
Palmer's  River,  in  Rehoboth,  and  Three  Mile  River,  in  Taunton,  was 
thrown  open.  The  records  show  that  the  corporation  did  not  appear  to 
offer  objection  to  the  proceedings  in  1846,  so  it  is  possible  that  the  road 
had  been  abandoned  and  that  tolls  had  ceased  to  be  collected  prior  to 
that  date. 

In  East  Providence  the  turnpike  is  called  Taunton  Avenue,  and  Win- 
throp  Street,  in  Taunton. 

Although  the  Norfolk  and  Middlesex  Turnpike  Corporation,  cre- 
ated by  an  act  of  the  same  March  3,  had  a  committee  appointed,  which 
made  the  location  for  the  road  and  assessed  the  damages,  and  had  the 
same  approved  by  the  courts  of  Norfolk  and  Middlesex  counties,  no 
further  records  have  been  found,  and  we  have  to  conclude  that  nothing 
more  was  done.  The  route  allowed  this  company  started  at  Ichabod 
Hawes'  tavern  in  Holliston,  and  ran  through  Dover,  Needham,  and 
Newton  to  "  the  northwest  corner  of  Samuel  G.  Perkins'  garden,  in 
Brookline."  No  continuous  road  along  this  route  is  to  be  found  on 
the  maps  to-day,  which  confirms  the  opinion  that  the  turnpike  was 
never  built. 


THE    HAMPDEN   AND    BERKSHIRE   TURNPIKE 

The  fourth  turnpike  act  of  the  third  of  March,  1826,  incorporated 
the  Hampden  and  Berkshire  Turnpike  Corporation,  with  the  right  to 
build  a  road  from  a  point  in  Russell,  through  Blandford  Center,  to 
the  westerly  end  of  the  Becket  Turnpike  in  Becket.     This  road  was 

[203] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

plainly  projected  as  an  improvement  on  the  route  between  Springfield 
and  Albany,  over  the  Eighth  Massachusetts  and  the  Becket  turnpikes, 
and  the  Hampden  and  Berkshire  was  commonly  referred  to  as  the  turn- 
pike between  those  cities. 

A  location  was  promptly  secured,  and  it  was  approved  at  the  Septem- 
ber term  of  the  Hampden  court  of  sessions,  at  which  time  the  change 
in  the  law  went  into  effect,  whereby  the  approval  of  road  locations  be- 
came a  duty  of  the  county  commissioners.  The  turnpike  was  laid  out 
and  built  from  a  point  on  the  Eighth  Massachusetts  on  the  westerly 
bank  of  the  Westfield  River,  about  opposite  where  the  Fairfield  Station 
of  the  Boston  and  Albany  Railroad  now  stands,  and  followed  up  the 
valley  of  Potash  Brook  to  Blandford  Center.  Thence  it  continued  to 
North  Blandford,  and  from  there  over  what  is  now  called  the  Lee  and 
Westfield  Road,  through  the  northeastern  part  of  Otis,  into  Becket,  to 
a  junction  with  the  Becket  Turnpike,  about  a  mile  and  a  quarter  south- 
east of  West  Becket  Village.  A  saving  of  about  five  miles  and  a  half 
was  made  by  this  route  over  that  previously  followed,  which  was  ample 
reason  for  its  adoption  by  the  stages.  Figures  of  cost  and  earnings  of 
this  road  would  be  especially  interesting,  but  none  are  to  be  found. 

In  one  of  the  few  books  essaying  to  treat  of  turnpikes,  "  The  Tav- 
erns and  Turnpikes  of  Blandford  "  by  Sumner  Gilbert  Wood,  we  natu- 
rally find  much  of  interest  concerning  this  road.     From  it  we  quote : 

This  turnpike  shortly  revolutionized  the  traffic  of  the  country  hereabout.  Two 
of  the  four  daily  stages  which  had  run  for  years  by  the  Boston  and  Albany  road, 
were  transferred  to  this  turnpike,  while  an  immense  and  incessant  traffic  of  business 
and  pleasure  developed  and  continued  until,  gradually,  the  railroad  (which  followed 
the  lines  of  the  Eighth  Massachusetts  and  Pontoosac)  brought  quiet  and  solitude 
again.  What  commotion  this  new  line  of  travel  stirred  within  the  town  itself  by 
way  of  adjustment  to  new  conditions  is  dimly  echoed  in  the  county  records.  A  net- 
work of  crooked  roads  had  pervaded  the  Gore ;  now  there  was  a  thoroughfare.  The 
old  post  road  itself  was  in  large  part  side-tracked  by  the  new  turnpike.  The  select- 
men of  the  town  petitioned  the  court  in  this  year  1829,  to  discontinue  some  of  these 
roads,  or  sections  thereof,  a  thing  which  was  shortly  accomplished.  .  .  . 

There  was  one  toll  gate  on  this  'pike  within  the  limits  of  the  town,  about  a  mile 
below  the  village.  Later  there  was  another,  succeeding  the  first  one,  a  little  lower 
down.  That  house  is  still  standing,  familiarly  known  as  "  the  gate  house,"  at  the 
junction  of  the  old  mountain  road  and  the  newer  one  under  review. 

An  aged  Blandford  resident  said: 

As  compared  with  the  modern  country  road,  the  turnpikes  were  rough  and  miry, 
"  all  chomped  up."  You  could  n't  look  out  of  the  window,  hardly,  but  you  would 
see  a  team.  Team  after  team  of  lime,  drawn  by  four  horses  each,  passed  along  from 
the  Berkshire  limekilns.  Great  droves  of  cattle,  sheep,  and  hogs  were  driven  to  the 
Brighton  market.  Stages  here,  as  everywhere  throughout  the  country,  were  often 
getting  stalled  in  the  mire,  when  passengers  had  to  get  out  and  the  men,  with  the 
help  of  the  neighbors,  would  help  the  tired  and  overburdened  horses  lift  the  vehicle 
up  and  on  to  more  solid  ground. 

Many  are  the  stories  of  the  old  taverns,  but  the  book  mentioned  gives 
us  a  unique  method  by  which  one  landlord  eked  out  an  additional  in- 

[204] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

come.  His  specialty,  it  seems,  was  to  entertain  swine  and  their  drivers, 
and  his  barn  was  ingeniously  fitted  for  that  purpose.  A  dropping  trap- 
door in  the  floor,  operated  from  a  distant  viewpoint,  would  open  at  the 
psychological  moment,  and  a  good  fat  porker  would  be  added  to  the 
landlord's  herd  below. 

The  length  of  the  Hampden  and  Berkshire  was  about  sixteen  and  a 
half  miles,  and  according  to  the  book  quoted,  it  was  opened  for  business 
in  1829.  It  is  interesting  to  note  in  this  connection  that  the  Becket 
Turnpike  went  out  of  existence  at  its  own  request  three  years  later. 

In  1832  the  Hampden  and  Berkshire  was  allowed  to  change  the  loca- 
tion of  its  road  by  running  around  two  hills  in  the  town  of  Russell  in- 
stead of  continuing  over  them  in  a  straight  line.  It  is  indeed  strange 
that  a  road  built  as  late  as  1826  should  have  been  subject  to  the  old 
delusion  of  going  straight  over  all  obstacles. 

The  record  of  the  public  layout  of  this  turnpike  is  doubtless  to  be 
found  in  Springfield,  if  one  knows  how  to  find  it,  but  we  will  rely  upon 
the  statement  of  Mr.  Enos  W.  Boise,  an  old  resident  and  town  clerk 
of  Blandford,  who  advises  us  that  it  became  free  in  1852  or  1853.  He 
clearly  recalls  that  in  185 1  a  spirited  pair  of  horses  owned  by  his  father 
ran  away  on  the  turnpike  and  smashed  the  gate. 

This  was  the  last  turnpike  charter  granted  in  Massachusetts,  under 
authority  of  which  a  road  was  built.  Six  more  acts  of  incorporation 
were  passed  but  none  bore  fruit.  Another  road  was  built  in  connection 
with  a  toll  bridge. 

The  Pawtucket  and  Taunton  Turnpike  Corporation,  March  4,  1826, 
had  the  right  to  build  from  a  point  in  Seekonk,  near  Pawtucket  Village, 
through  Seekonk  and  Rehoboth  to  Taunton  Green. 

Nothing  more  has  been  found  concerning  such  a  road. 

The  Hoosac  Mountain  Turnpike  Corporation  was  the  lone  product 
of  the  year  1827,  being  incorporated  on  the  twenty-third  of  February. 
This  company  proposed  to  build  a  road  in  rivalry  of  the  Second  Massa- 
chusetts, which  was  still  in  operation.  Its  turnpike  was  to  start  from  a 
point  in  Charlemont  "  at  a  large  rock  on  the  north  bank  of  the  Deer- 
field  River,"  then  to  cross  the  river  and  follow  the  valley  of  Cold  Brook 
to  the  tavern  of  one  Haskins,  "  on  the  top  of  the  mountain,"  then  down 
the  North  Branch  of  the  Hoosac  River  to  "  the  north  village  of 
Adams."  It  is  unlikely  that  Mr.  Haskins  had  found  encouragement  to 
open  his  tavern  at  any  point  on  the  top  of  the  mountain  except  on  the 
existing  turnpike,  and  it  seems  plain  that  the  projectors  of  the  new  road 
proposed  to  cross  the  Second  Massachusetts  at  its  highest  point,  then 
to  descend  the  westerly  slope  of  the  Hoosac  Range  by  a  diagonal  north- 
erly course  which  would  have  brought  them  about  to  the  present  village 
of  Briggsville  in  the  town  of  Clarksburg,  and  on  the  banks  of  the  North 
Branch  of  the  Hoosac  River. 

[205] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

Another  echo  of  the  railroad  agitation  of  the  twenties  is  found  in 
section  three  of  the  charter  of  this  company,  in  which  it  is  provided  that 
the  state  may  at  any  time  appropriate  the  whole  or  any  part  of  the 
route  for  railroad  purposes.  In  1828  the  company  secured  the  passage 
of  an  act  releasing  it  from  its  obligation  to  build  outside  of  the  valley 
of  Cold  Brook,  in  the  towns  of  Florida  or  Savoy.  Plainly  the  project 
was  in  dire  need  of  encouragement,  for  the  allowed  tolls  were  increased 
about  40  per  cent  by  the  same  act,  but  that  was  not  enough,  for  the  road 
was  never  built. 

One  company  was  incorporated  in  1829  on  the  eleventh  of  June, — 
the  Providence  and  Bristol  Turnpike  Corporation,  with  authority  to 
connect  the  two  towns  named.  As  required  by  law,  this  company's 
route  was  gone  over  by  a  viewing  committee  of  the  legislature  previous 
to  the  introduction  of  the  bill,  and  the  report  of  that  committee  may  be 
seen  in  the  state  archives  accompanied  by  a  plan.  The  plan  is  a  good 
map  of  the  roads  existing  at  that  time  in  the  region  to  be  traversed,  and 
the  "  contemplated  turnpike  "  is  shown  thereon  by  a  single  line,  drawn 
with  a  ruler  from  India  Point  to  the  line  of  Barrington,  Rhode  Island, 
in  a  direct  aim  for  Bristol. 

The  Hoosac  Rail  or  McAdamized  Road  Company,  incorporated 
February  25,  1832,  was  a  hybrid,  either  turnpike  or  railroad,  as  its 
promoters  should  "  deem  expedient."  Nine  private  corporations  had 
been  chartered  prior  to  the  date  of  this  act  for  the  purpose  of  building 
railroads,  but  so  far  none  of  them  had  sufficiently  won  the  public  con- 
fidence to  enable  the  raising  of  the  necessary  money,  except  the  Granite 
Railway  of  Quincy,  although  the  Providence,  Worcester,  and  Lowell 
roads  later  succeeded.  This  Hoosac  company  secured  a  charter  closely 
following  the  lines  of  the  one  granted  for  a  railroad  to  the  Boston, 
Providence,  and  Taunton  Railroad  Corporation  March  12,  1830,  but 
apparently  the  incorporators  were  faint-hearted  on  the  railroad  ques- 
tion and  had  an  alternative  form  of  construction  allowed  under  which 
they  could  build  an  old-fashioned  turnpike. 

What  they  were  driving  at  is  hard  to  conjecture.  Their  route  was 
from  the  north  line  of  Williamstown  to  the  north  line  of  Cheshire,  with 
the  right  to  extend  to  the  source  of  the  Hoosac  River.  A  glance  at  the 
map  will  show  such  a  line  to  be  most  unpromising  and  discouraging,  and 
it  is  no  wonder  that  no  road  was  built. 


THE   GRANITE   TURNPIKE 

The  granite  quarries  of  Quincy  first  came  prominently  before  the 
country  when  it  was  decided  to  construct  the  Bunker  Hill  Monument 
from  their  product.  They  were  four  miles  from  tidewater,  and  the  only 
[206] 


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THE  TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

means  of  transporting  the  blocks  of  stone  was  over  the  roads  of  that 
period,  of  which  but  a  few  miles  tributary  to  the  quarries  were  turn- 
pikes. To  reach  Boston  required  a  roundabout  journey  either  by  way 
of  the  Neponset  Bridge  or  by  way  of  Milton  Lower  Mills,  and  there 
was  no  satisfactory  way  of  reaching  Charlestown,  where  the  monument 
was  to  be  built.  Hence  a  railway  was  conceived  by  which  the  stones 
were  carried  down  hill  to  the  tidewater  of  the  Neponset  River  at  Gul- 
liver's Creek,  where  they  were  loaded  on  to  barges  which  were  floated 
around  to  the  dock  in  Charlestown.  This  served  very  well  as  long  as 
the  stones  were  wanted  at  points  accessible  by  water,  but  an  early  de- 
mand arose  for  building  stone  to  be  used  in  the  new  parts  of  Boston; 
and  a  more  direct  route  was  needed. 

April  13,  1837,  the  proprietors  of  the  Granite  Bridge  were  incorpo- 
rated for  the  purpose  of  building  a  road  from  the  old  county  road  at 
or  near  the  store  of  I.  Babcock,  Jr.,  in  Milton  and  running  thence  north 
ten  and  three  quarters  degrees  west,  about  two  hundred  and  seventy-two 
rods;  north  nineteen  degrees  west,  about  fifty-six  rods;  north  twenty- 
five  and  one  half  degrees  west,  about  one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  rods 
to  the  Neponset  River,  "  and  to  locate,  build,  and  construct  a  bridge 
across  said  river  in  continuation  of  said  last-mentioned  line  of  said  road 
to  Dorchester  ";  and  thence  to  continue  the  road  north  eight  and  three 
quarters  degrees  west,  about  one  hundred  and  eight  rods  to  the  "  lower 
road  "  in  Dorchester  on  or  near  the  land  of  Rev.  Ephraim  Randall. 
A  draw  not  less  than  thirty-one  feet  wide  was  to  be  located  by  commis- 
sioners appointed  for  that  purpose,  and  wharves  or  piers  seventy-five 
feet  long  were  to  be  built  on  each  side  to  assist  vessels  in  passing  through 
the  opening.  The  total  cost  of  bridge  and  road  was  not  to  be  in  excess 
of  fifteen  thousand  dollars  and  the  management  was  not  allowed  to 
incur  annual  expenses  of  over  fifteen  hundred  dollars. 

Plotting  the  description  of  the  route  of  the  road  plainly  shows  that 
it  began  in  the  center  of  East  Milton  Village  adjacent  to  the  crossing 
of  the  Granite  Railway  by  Adams  Street,  the  old  county  road  and  the 
old  colonial  road  to  Plymouth.  Thence  it  marked  out  the  lines  of  the 
present-day  Granite  Avenue  across  the  marshes  and  river  to  Adams 
Street  in  Dorchester,  the  "  lower  road." 

This  "  lower  road  "  was  an  ancient  institution  at  that  date,  having 
been  an  alternate  route  by  which  the  bridge  over  the  Neponset  at 
Milton  Lower  Mills  was  reached  from  Boston,  the  other  road  passing 
through  Grove  Hall  and  following  the  Washington  Street  of  to-day. 
The  "  lower  road  "  commenced  at  the  corner  of  Washington  and  Eustis 
streets  near  the  boundary  at  that  date  between  Boston  and  Roxbury, 
and  followed  over  what  are  now  known  as  Eustis,  Mall,  Dearborn, 
Dudley,  Stoughton,  Pleasant,  Bowdoin,  Adams,  and  Washington  streets 
to  Milton  Lower  Mills.  At  its  beginning  is  found  one  of  the  oldest 
cemeteries  in  New  England,  interments  having  begun  there  in  1633  and 
continued  until  1854.    At  that  point,  also,  was  the  first  barricade  erected 

[207] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

by  the  Americans  to  prevent  the  British  troops  from  making  a  sortie 
during  the  siege  of  Boston. 

As  the  road  built  by  the  bridge  company  commenced  almost  on  the 
location  of  the  Granite  Railway  and  was  only  a  few  hundred  feet  away 
from  it  at  the  railway's  terminus,  it  may  not  be  amiss  to  consider  here 
the  cars  and  track  which  became  so  familiar  to  the  turnpike  workmen. 
When  the  bridge  and  turnpike  were  built  the  Granite  Railway  had  been 
in  operation  about  eleven  years  and  the  railroads  from  Boston  to  Provi- 
dence, Worcester,  and  Lowell  about  two  years. 

The  track  of  the  Granite  Railway  was  originally  composed  of  stone 
crossties  bedded  in  the  ground  at  intervals  of  eight  feet  with  wooden 
rails  faced  with  a  bar  of  iron  on  which  the  wheels  ran.  By  1837  the 
wooden  rails  had  been  replaced  with  stringers  of  granite  hammered 
smooth  on  the  upper  face  and  having  similar  bars  of  iron  pinned  to  their 
tops.  It  was  officially  stated  that  the  maintenance  costs  on  this  form 
of  track  had  not  amounted  to  ten  dollars  a  year,  and  the  track  continued 
in  use  until  1 87 1,  when  it  was  sold  to  the  Old  Colony  Railroad  Company 
and  replaced  by  a  modern  railroad  construction.  The  first  car  had 
wheels  six  and  a  half  feet  in  diameter  with  the  load  carried  on  a  plat- 
form running  just  clear  of  the  rails  and  hung  from  the  axles  by  chains. 
The  capacity  was  about  six  tons. 

In  1846  the  Granite  Railway  Company  was  authorized  to  extend 
its  road,  crossing  the  Neponset  River  not  over  five  hundred  feet  below 
the  Granite  toll  bridge  and  uniting  with  the  newly  chartered  Dorches- 
ter and  Milton  Branch  Railroad  in  Dorchester.  It  was  also  given 
authority  to  sell  its  road  to  the  Old  Colony  Railroad  Company,  a  privi- 
lege which  was  renewed  in  1848  but  which  was  not  utilized  until  1871. 
Then  the  Old  Colony  introduced  a  curve  in  the  track  at  the  foot  of  the 
hill  on  the  edge  of  the  marshes  and  carried  the  track  easterly  along  the 
southerly  bank  of  the  river  to  a  junction  with  its  main  line  at  Atlantic. 
The  section  running  out  over  the  marsh  and  the  pier  at  Gulliver's  Creek 
were  thus  left  out  of  the  reckoning,  but  the  pier  is  still  to  be  plainly 
traced,  and  on  it  can  be  seen  to-day  about  two  hundred  feet  of  the  old 
granite  rails  still  in  the  place  where  they  carried  the  cars  of  stone.  The 
iron  plates  which  received  the  tread  of  the  wheels  are  gone  but  rust 
clearly  shows  where  they  were,  and  the  pins  which  held  them  are  yet 
in  place. 

It  would  seem  that  the  drivers  of  teams  which  passed  over  the 
Granite  Bridge  were  not  satisfied  with  the  capacity  of  the  railway  car, 
for  the  company  was  obliged  to  ask  the  passage  of  an  act  in  1845  by 
which  the  owner  of  a  load  of  over  seven  tons  was  made  liable  for  any 
damage  done  to  the  bridge. 

With  Yankee  shrewdness  the  company  reported  the  bridge  and  road 
as  costing  fifteen  thousand  dollars,  all  that  the  law  allowed,  which  does 
not  seem  to  have  been  an  unreasonable  figure.  There  was  consider- 
able difficult  construction  of  the  road  across  the  soft  marsh  and  the 
[208] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   MASSACHUSETTS 

bridge  abutments  must  have  been  costly  to  build.  The  corporation  made 
returns  of  business  from  1840  to  1854,  but  complete  for  only  eleven 
years.  For  those  years  the  net  earnings  were  about  three  hundred  and 
seventeen  dollars  on  an  average,  or  two  and  eleven  hundredths  per  cent. 
The  gross  receipts  ran  from  five  hundred  and  fifty  to  fifteen  hundred 
dollars,  but  generally  around  seven  or  eight  hundred.  In  one  year  only, 
1852,  was  a  loss  reported  when  the  business  ran  behind  to  the  amount 
of  three  hundred  and  sixty-three  dollars. 

May  4,  1865,  the  Norfolk  county  commissioners  were  authorized 
to  lay  out  the  bridge  and  road  as  a  public  highway.  The  property  had 
fallen  into  a  bad  condition  and  the  commissioners  were  required  to  put 
the  same  into  proper  repair,  after  which  the  towns  of  Dorchester  and 
Milton  were  to  assume  the  maintenance.  The  commissioners,  under 
that  authority,  laid  out  the  road  and  bridge  September  8,  1865. 

The  present  bridge  was  in  part  built  under  the  provisions  of  an  act 
passed  June  13,  1913,  by  which  a  commission  was  provided  for  the 
purpose  of  constructing  a  new  bridge  with  suitable  approaches,  sub- 
stantially replacing  the  old  bridge.  Seventy  thousand  dollars  was  to  be 
advanced  by  the  Commonwealth  to  be  repaid  later  by  Suffolk,  and  Nor- 
folk counties,  Milton,  and  Quincy.  The  control  is  now  vested  in  the 
mayor  of  Boston  and  the  chairman  of  the  selectmen  of  Milton. 

We  have  previously  noted  the  effort  to  build  a  road  by  the  Tyring- 
ham  and  Sandisfield  Turnpike  Corporation  and  concluded  that  the  effort 
was  in  vain.  In  1841,  February  27,  the  Clam  River  Turnpike  Corpora- 
tion was  formed  to  carry  out  the  same  purpose.  The  route  allowed  this 
company  was  from  New  Boston  in  Sandisfield  to  Hubbard's  cider  mill 
in  Tyringham,  following  up  the  Clam  River  and  down  Hop  Brook.  At 
the  date  of  this  charter  there  were  several  railroads  actually  built  and 
in  operation  in  Massachusetts,  and  the  builders  of  the  Western  Railroad 
were  then  cleaving  the  Berkshires.  The  day  of  the  turnpike  had  passed 
with  the  demonstration  of  the  success  of  the  locomotive,  and  this  corpo- 
ration was  born  too  late.  Not  even  a  location  by  a  committee  of  the 
court  was  secured  and  the  whole  enterprise  faded  away. 

That  there  was  some  need  of  a  road  in  the  route  specified  is  evident 
from  the  fact  that  the  local  authorities  later  did  build  a  public  road  be- 
tween West  Otis  and  Tryingham  on  the  line  allowed  the  Clam  River 
Corporation. 

Twenty-seven  years  later,  March  23,  1868,  the  Chelsea  Beach  and 
Saugus  Bridge  and  Turnpike  Company  was  incorporated,  the  last  in 
Massachusetts.  Its  proposed  road  was  to  lead  from  the  Ocean  House 
in  North  Chelsea,  now  Revere,  to  the  Salem  Turnpike  in  Saugus  op- 
posite the  junction  with  the  Saugus  Road.  Apparently  this  road  was  to 
be  about  a  mile  long,  starting  at  the  outer  end  of  the  Point  of  Pines,  and 
running  straight,  as  was  a  turnpike's  wont,  across  the  marshes  to  the 

[209] 


Turnpike  Drive  and  Meguntikook  Lake,  Camden,  Maine.    Camden  Turnpike 
Southgate  Farm,  Scarboro,  Maine.     First  Cumberland  Turnpike 

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Salem  Turnpike  near   the  Saugus   and  Lynn  boundary.      It  does   not 
appear  that  anything  beyond  securing  the  charter  was  ever  done. 

Although  the  turnpike  era  was  long  past,  this  corporation  does  not 
altogether  stand  alone.  Its  purpose  plainly  was  to  give  entrance  to  a 
pleasure  resort,  and  many  similar  turnpike  charters  are  found  on  the 
New  Hampshire  legislative  records  at  the  same  and  later  dates,  provid- 
ing for  roads  to  the  summits  of  several  of  the  noted  mountains  of  that 
state. 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   MAINE 

Upon  the  severance  of  Maine  from  Massachusetts  in  1820,  the  turn- 
pike inheritance  consisted  of  five  roads:  The  First  Cumberland  Turn- 
pike, in  Scarboro;  the  Bath  Bridge  and  Turnpike,  from  Brunswick 
to  Bath;  the  Wiscasset  and  Woolwich;  the  Wiscasset  and  Augusta;  and 
the  Camden  turnpikes.  Each  of  these  has  been  treated  in  its  order  in 
the  Massachusetts  section. 

Evidently  anticipating  considerable  business  in  forming  corporations 
for  that  purpose,  the  new  state  adopted  a  comprehensive  code  of  general 
laws  closely  following  the  Massachusetts  practice,  in  which  the  pro- 
cedure in  such  cases  was  fully  outlined.  The  only  radical  departure 
from  Massachusetts  custom  was  in  delegating  to  the  county  commis- 
sioners instead  of  to  a  committee  appointed  by  the  court  the  duty  of  lay- 
ing out  the  line  of  the  road.  But  the  labor  of  preparing  these  laws  was 
wasted,  for  only  one  company  was  formed  by  the  Maine  legislature  and 
that  company  failed  to  carry  out  its  plans. 

An  act  was  passed  in  1822  which  from  its  title  would  seem  to  be  the 
formation  of  a  turnpike  corporation,  but  it  was  not;  for  by  it  was  cre- 
ated the  company  which  built  and  operated  for  many  years  the  Machias 
Toll  Bridge  across  Middle  River  in  Machias. 

Two  sets  of  petitioners  besieged  the  legislature  of  1833,  each  asking 
for  a  turnpike  franchise  from  Bangor  to  Levant  Village.  Committees 
were  appointed  on  each  petition  to  view  the  route  proposed  but  no  fur- 
ther action  has  been  found  on  the  records. 

March  9,  1863,  the  Milford  and  Princeton  Turnpike  Company  was 
chartered  to  build 

from  some  point  on  the  road  in  Greenfield  in  the  county  of  Penobscot,  to  near  the 
depot  of  Lewy's  Island  Railroad  in  Princeton. 

Whipple's  "  Geological  View  of  the  District  of  Maine,"  published 
in  1816,  tells  of  great  pains  taken  in  Penobscot  County  in  the  location 
of  roads,  and  that  many  had  been  built  by  the  state  and  by  various  land- 
owners, from  which  it  may  be  inferred  that  the  field  had  not  many  open- 
ings for  turnpike  improvement.  However  that  may  be,  the  project  of 
1863  does  not  seem  to  have  offered  any  great  inducements. 

In  1866  action  was  taken  to  assist  the  company  to  construct  its  road. 

[211] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

The  legislature  resolved  that  thirty  thousand  dollars  should  be  appro- 
priated from  the  sale  of  public  lands  and  timber,  and  that  as  fast  as  the 
corporation  had  expended  thirteen  thousand  dollars  of  its  own  money, 
the  state  should  contribute  ten  thousand  dollars  of  the  appropriation 
to  continue  the  work. 

The  name  of  the  corporation  was  changed  in  the  same  year  to 
Granger  Turnpike  Company,  and  under  that  name  aired  its  difficulties 
before  the  legislature  of  1870.  Certain  sums  of  money  had  been  set 
aside  by  the  state,  in  consequence  of  the  resolve  of  1866,  which  had  not 
been  paid  to  the  company,  and  in  1876  the  state  treasurer  was  directed 
to  turn  such  funds  back  into  the  treasury. 

So  it  is  clear  that  the  only  company  ever  formed  in  Maine  did  not 
succeed  in  carrying  out  its  plans. 


[212] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  HAMSPHIRE 


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THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  HAMPSHIRE 

THREE  days  behind  Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire  set  the 
turnpike  movement  going  on  the  fourteenth  day  of  June,  1796, 
when  the  "  Proprietors  of  New  Hampshire  Turnpike  Road  " 
were  incorporated.  It  would  seem  that  the  promoters  of  this  road  did 
not  anticipate  the  eighty-one  other  corporations  which  were  to  follow 
them  when  they  chose  a  name  with  so  little  to  distinguish  it  and  so  little 
suggestive  of  the  road's  location.  But  the  movement  grew,  two  more 
being  incorporated  in  the  same  century,  while  forty-seven  appeared  on 
the  statute  books  during  the  first  ten  years  of  the  nineteenth.  In  this  state 
the  agitation  for  turnpikes  continued  long  after  it  had  been  looked  on  as 
a  thing  of  the  dim  past  in  the  others.  Seven  acts  of  incorporation  were 
passed  in  the  sixties,  seven  in  the  seventies,  three  in  the  eighties,  and  one 
in  1893,  nearly  all  of  which  were  exploited  in  the  interests  of  summer 
tourist  travel. 

As  in  Massachusetts,  the  custom  in  New  Hampshire  generally  called 
for  the  location  and  building  of  entirely  new  roads,  although  there 
were  cases  in  which  old  roads  were  utilized.  But  in  the  matter  of  tolls 
the  Granite  State  followed  the  lead  of  Pennsylvania  and  adopted  a 
system  which  has  stood  the  test  of  time,  it  being  on  a  mileage  basis. 
Under  this  system  the  gates  and  tollhouses  could  be  erected  at  any  suit- 
able points,  and  the  rates  for  collection  scaled  according  to  the  distance 
to  the  adjoining  gates.  The  rates  of  toll  granted  to  the  first  company 
were  as  follows: 

Per  mile. 
Cents. 

Every  ten  sheep  or  hogs 1 

Every  ten  cattle 2 

Every  horse  and  his  rider,  or  led  horse 1 

Every  sulkey,  chair,  or  chaise,  with  one  horse  and  two  wheels i1/^ 

Every  chariot,  coach,  stage,  waggon,  phaeton,  or  chaise  with  two  horses 

ana  four  wheels 3 

Either  of  the  carriages  last  mentioned  with  four  horses 3 

Every  other  carriage  of  pleasure  the  like  sum  according  to  the  number 
of  wheels  and  horses  drawing  the  same. 

Each  cart  or  other  carriage  of  burthen  drawn  by  one  beast 1 

Each  waggon,  cart,  or  other  carriage  of  burthen  drawn  by  two  beasts     .    .  iy2 

If  by  more  than  two,  one  cent  for  each  additional  yoke  of  oxen  or  horse. 

Each  sleigh  drawn  by  one  horse iy2 

By  two  horses 2 

If  by  more  than  two,  one  cent  for  each  horse. 

[215] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

Per  mile. 
Cents. 

Each  sled  drawn  by  one  horse I 

Each  sled  drawn  by  two  horses  or  yoke  of  oxen 1I4 

If  by  more  than  two  horses  or  a  yoke  of  oxen  one  cent  for  each  pair  of 
horses  or  yoke  of  oxen. 

One  might  wonder  after  inspection  of  the  above  how  a  toll  gatherer 
would  compute  the  lawful  toll  on  a  flock  of  turkeys  such  as  were  often 
driven  over  the  roads  in  the  old  days,  but  the  schedule  seems  to  be  very 
complete  otherwise,  and  it  is  a  source  of  surprise  to  learn  that  there  was 
an  omission  which  gave  rise  to  much  trouble.  The  vehicle  which  was 
not  classified  was  the  "  sleigh  of  burthen."  Consultation  of  the  dic- 
tionary leaves  us  with  the  feeling  that  between  sleds  and  sleighs  of  vari- 
ous horse  power  the  "  sleigh  of  burthen  "  would  hardly  have  found  a 
vacancy  on  the  above  list,  but  such  vacancy  was  found.  It  would  seem 
that  "  sleigh  of  burthen  "  must  have  been  a  local  name  for  what  we  now 
call  a  "  pung,"  and  that  it  was  considered  neither  a  sled  on  low  solid" 
runners,  nor  a  sleigh  for  pleasure  riding. 

Whereas  impositions  on  the  publick  have  taken  place  in  consequence  of  the 
omission  of  the  words  "  sleigh  of  burthen,"  after  the  word  "  sled  "  in  several  acts 
passed  for  the  purpose  aforesaid ;  for  remedy  whereof  — 

Be  it  enacted  by  the  senate  and  house  of  representatives  in  general  court  convened, 
That  from  and  after  the  passing  this  act,  every  sleigh  of  burthen  shall  pay  no  more 
toll  than  is  charged  on  a  sled  drawn  by  the  same  number  of  beasts,  although  the 
words  "  sleigh  of  burthen  "  are  not  inserted  in  said  act  or  acts, 

after  the  passage  of  which  on  June  17,  1806,  we  hope  there  was  no  more 
trouble. 

The  straight-line  requirement  does  not  appear  in  any  of  the  New 
Hampshire  charters,  due  no  doubt  to  the  rugged  topography  which  for- 
bade such  a  layout.  From  first  to  last  the  authority  to  build  and  main- 
tain a  road  was  expressed  as  follows : 

And  be  it  further  enacted,  that  the  said  Corporation  are  empowered  to  survey,  lay 
out,  make,  and  keep  in  repair,  a  Turnpike-road  or  highway  of  four  rods  wide  in  such 
rout  or  track  as,  in  the  best  of  their  judgment  and  skill,  will  combine  shortness  of 
distance  with  the  most  practicable  ground  from to 

Combining  shortness  of  distance  with  the  most  practicable  ground  is 
certainly  an  acceptable  definition  of  a  modern  scientific  location,  and 
has  been  met  before  in  connection  with  the  Lancaster  Turnpike  of 
Pennsylvania. 

Special  acts  were  passed  in  nearly  every  emergency  in  New  Hamp- 
shire, only  four  general  acts  being  found.  Three  of  these  appear  in  the 
Revised  Statutes  of  1830,  but  they  had  disappeared  in  1842.  One  was 
the  act  just  quoted;  another,  passed  in  1806,1  allowed  the  proprietors 
of  turnpike  roads  and  toll  bridges  to  reduce  their  tolls  whenever  they 
wished  and  as  much  as  they  wished,  a  most  inestimable  privilege;  the 

1  Volume  16,  page  383,  New  Hampshire  Acts. 
[216] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   NEW   HAMPSHIRE 

third  '  provided  that  alterations  in  a  road  might  be  made  upon  applica- 
tion to  the  court  of  common  pleas,  and  upon  its  order.  In  the  revision 
of  1857  a  new  law  appeared  providing  that  the  franchise  of  any  corpo- 
ration entitled  to  collect  toll  might  be  seized  on  execution  and  sold  at 
auction.  Bids  were  made  in  units  of  time,  the  successful  bidder  being 
the  one  offering  the  shortest  time,  and  being  entitled  to  collect  tolls 
during  the  period  named  in  his  bid,  in  return  for  which  he  paid  the  judg- 
ment. Except  for  these  few  laws  each  corporation  was  controlled  by 
special  acts  passed  in  reference  to  it. 


THE    NEW    HAMPSHIRE   TURNPIKE 

As  already  stated  the  first  company  was  entitled  the  Proprietors  of 
New  Hampshire  Turnpike  Road.  The  petition  for  incorporation  set 
forth  that  communication  between  the  seacoast  and  the  interior  parts 
of  the  state  might  be  made  much  more  easy,  convenient,  and  less  expen- 
sive than  hitherto  by  a  direct  road  from  Concord  to  the  Piscataqua 
Bridge;  but  that  "the  expensiveness  "  of  such  an  undertaking  would 
render  it  difficult  of  accomplishment  "  otherwise  than  by  an  incorporated 
company  "  to  be  "  indemnified  by  a  toll  for  the  sums  that  should  be 
expended  "  by  it.2 

This  company's  road  was  promptly  completed,  covering  a  distance 
of  thirty-six  miles  and  passing  through  the  towns  of  Durham,  Lee,  Bar- 
rington,  Nottingham,  Northwood,  Epsom,  Chichester,  Pembroke,  and 
Concord.  Its  eastern  terminus  was  at  the  Piscataqua  Bridge,  which 
connected  Durham  and  Newington  over  a  half  mile  of  water,  and  was 
considered  in  those  days  a  marvel  of  bridge  building.  The  western  end 
was  at  the  "  Federal  Bridge  "  over  the  Merrimac  in  Concord,  and  the 
road  there  is  now  known  as  Portsmouth  Street.3  In  1803  an  additional 
act  was  passed  which  allowed  the  building  of  a  branch  turnpike  leaving 
the  main  road  on  the  "  Dark  Plains,"  about  two  and  a  half  miles  from 
the  "  Federal  Bridge,"  and  running  southwesterly  to  the  Concord 
Bridge. 

No  tolls  were  to  be  collected  on  any  mile  until  six  hundred  dollars 
had  been  expended  thereon  or  a  proportionate  sum  upon  several  miles 
covered  by  one  gate.  Miss  Thompson,  in  "  Landmarks  in  Ancient 
Dover,"  says  that  proposals  for  construction  were  invited  in  Ports- 
mouth October  3,  1800,  and  that  March  19,  1803,  public  notice  was 
given  that  the  required  sums  had  been  expended  and  that  the  company 
would  avail  itself  of  the  privilege  of  collecting  tolls  on  and  after  April  1 
of  that  year.  Miss  Thompson  states  the  cost  of  construction  as  having 
been  nine  hundred  dollars  a  mile. 

1  Volume  21,  page  III,  Acts  of  1818,  amended  Volume  24,  page  147,  1827. 

2  McClintock's  "History  of  New  Hampshire,"  page  456. 

3  "  History  of  Concord,  New  Hampshire,"  City  Historical  Commission,.  James  O.  Lyford, 
editor,  1896. 

D»7] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

As  rates  of  toll  were  by  the  mile  the  company  was  at  liberty  to  erect 
as  many  gates  as  it  saw  fit,  and  it  appears  that  there  were  three  within 
the  limits  of  the  town  of  Durham.  The  first  was  near  Johnson's  Creek; 
the  second  a  little  below  Durham  Corner;  and  the  third  at  Mast  Road 
crossing.  A  short  distance  farther  and  within  the  town  of  Lee  another 
gate  was  found  at  the  Oyster  River  Bridge.  By  an  act  passed  June  14, 
1824,  the  corporation  was  allowed  to  sell  its  road  to  the  various  towns 
through  which  it  passed.  Concord's  history  tells  us  that  that  town  voted 
in  the  same  year  to  purchase  its  portion  of  the  road  if  the  price  was  not 
over  five  hundred  dollars,  and  from  a  communication  to  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Gazette  of  October  26,  1824,  we  learn  that  Portsmouth  had  ap- 
propriated a  sum  not  in  excess  of  four  thousand  dollars  for  the  same 
purpose.  Wadleigh's  "Notable  Events  in  the  History  of  Dover" 
gives  January  28,  1825,  as  the  date  on  which  the  road  became  free 
to  all. 

The  following  notes  from  the  first  New  Hampshire  charter  will  be 
interesting. 

Every  twenty  years  an  account  of  the  receipts  and  expenditures  was 
to  be  rendered  to  the  judges  of  the  supreme  court,  neglect  to  result  in 
"  forfeiture  of  the  privileges  of  this  act  in  future."  This  was  better 
than  the  Massachusetts  acts  which  provided  no  penalty  and  hence  were 
generally  disregarded. 

If  the  net  profits  shown  by  such  account  were  in  excess  of  twelve 
per  cent  the  judges  were  to  reduce  the  rates  of  toll,  but  if  less  than  six 
per  cent  they  were  to  be  increased. 

The  limit  within  which  the  road  should  be  completed  was  set  at  ten 
years.  The  corporation  was  to  be  liable  to  indictment  and  fine,  as  were 
the  towns,  for  failure  to  keep  the  road  in  good  order. 

The  section  forbidding  the  collection  of  tolls  until  six  hundred  dollars 
had  been  expended  on  one  or  several  miles  is  inconsistent  with  the  pur- 
pose of  building  a  "  direct  road,"  as  expressed  in  the  petition  for  in- 
corporation, and  the  conclusion  is  readily  reached  that  the  clause  was 
inadvertently  inserted.  At  that  date  the  only  charters  available  for 
guides  short  of  New  York  or  Pennsylvania  were  four  which  had  been 
granted  in  Connecticut  and  two  in  Rhode  Island,  all  of  which  had  been 
granted  for  the  purpose  of  making  turnpikes  of  existing  roads;  so  it  is 
easy  to  imagine  how  the  mistake  occurred. 

Visitors  to  Concord  see  many  neat  granite  stones  marking  spots  of 
historical  interest;  and  if  one  will  go  to  the  east  end  of  the  Pennecook 
Street  Bridge  over  the  Merrimac  he  will  find  there  such  a  marker. 
From  it  he  will  learn  that  there  is  the  site  of  the  first  ferry  which  was 
established  by  Captain  Ebenezer  Eastman  in  1727,  and  that  Tucker's 
Ferry  was  in  operation  there  in  1785,  the  Federal  Bridge  appearing  in 
1798.  Another  note  should  be  cut  on  that  stone  as  it  also  marks  the 
westerly  terminus  of  the  First  New  Hampshire  Turnpike  in  1798  or 
about  that  year. 

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Court  Street,  Keene,  N  H.     Third  New  Hampshire  Turnpike 
Lottery  Bridge,  Claremont,  N.  H.     Second  Xew  Hampshire  Turnpike 

Plate  LVII 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   NEW   HAMPSHIRE 

Passing  over  the  bridge  and  taking  the  first  road  to  the  right  brings 
one  to  Portsmouth  Street,  the  old  turnpike  as  it  was  first  built.  This 
route  made  the  terminus  on  the  Merrimac  nearly  two  miles  north  of  the 
business  center  of  Concord,  and  the  turnpike  proprietors  must  have  only 
waited  the  completion  of  the  Concord  Bridge  to  secure  a  better  entrance 
to  Concord.  As  stated,  this  was  done  in  consequence  of  an  act  of  1803, 
a  new  road  being  cut  from  a  point  on  the  Dark  Plains  straight  to  the 
Concord  Bridge.  That  road  now  enters  Concord  as  Bridge  Street  and 
leads  the  traveler  to  Main  Street  nearly  opposite  the  state  house.  It 
is  a  state  highway,  but  Portsmouth  Street  is  a  neglected  sandy  track 
through  the  woods. 

Both  the  Federal  and  Concord  bridges  were  authorized  by  acts  of 
incorporation  passed  in  1795,  the  Federal  being  opened  in  1798  and  the 
Concord  a  few  years  later. 


THE    SECOND    NEW   HAMPSHIRE   TURNPIKE 

The  Second  New  Hampshire  Turnpike  Corporation  was  created  in 
1799  and  lasted  until  1837,  when  its  charter  was  repealed.  Its  route 
was  "  from  lottery  bridge  in  Claremont  to  the  plain  in  Amherst,  near 
the  Court  House."  The  matter  of  this  turnpike  was  considered  at  an 
Antrim  town  meeting  November  18,  1799,  and  a  vote  of  "no  objec- 
tion "  was  passed.  Cochrane  wrote  in  his  "  History  of  Antrim  "  that  the 
road  was  built  across  the  eastern  edge  of  that  town  in  1800  and  for 
twenty-five  years  carried  an  enormous  traffic  of  farm  products  and 
timber  to  Boston,  the  teams  returning  with  loads  of  rum  and  store  goods. 
The  gates  were  about  eight  miles  apart,  there  being  two  in  Francestown 
and  one  at  Hillsboro  Upper  Village.  Although  not  obliged  to  do 
so  by  its  charter  this  company  fell  into  the  prevailing  error  and  made  its 
road  too  straight,  for  Cochrane  tells  us  that  free  roads  in  better  loca- 
tions cut  deeply  into  its  earnings. 


THE   THIRD    NEW    HAMPSHIRE   TURNPIKE 

The  Proprietors  of  the  Third  Turnpike  Road  in  New  Hampshire 
were  incorporated  December  27,  1799,  to  build  "  from  Bellows  Falls 
in  Walpole,  on  the  Connecticut  River,  through  Keene,  toward  Boston, 
to  the  Massachusetts  line,"  and  in  1808  were  allowed  to  build  a  short 
branch  in  the  town  of  Marlboro.  Cutter  tells  in  his  "  History  of 
Jaffrey  "  that  when  the  turnpike  became  available  it  soon  became  the 
common  practice  for  most  people  to  carry  their  products  to  Boston  in 
their  own  teams,  after  snow  fell,  and  it  was  not  uncommon  to  see  from 
twenty  to  forty  traveling  together. 

The  corporation  was  organized  in  February,  1800,  at  a  meeting  held 
in  Major  William  Todd's  tavern  in  Keene,  and  construction  was  started 

[219] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

the  same  year  we  learn  from  Griffin's  "  History  of  Keene."  The  turn- 
pike did  not  enter  the  center  of  Keene,  that  is  Central  Square,  but  curv- 
ing to  the  west  passed  around  it.  In  1808,  at  the  solicitation  of  Keene's 
selectmen,  a  revision  of  the  line  was  made  in  that  village  and  the  present 
straight  lines  of  Court  Street  became  the  new  turnpike  limits. 

In  December,  1803,  Dearborn  Emerson  started  a  line  of  stages  over 
this  road,  running  between  Boston  and  Bellows  Falls.  Under  earlier 
conditions  it  had  cost  six  dollars  to  be  carried  from  Keene  to  Boston, 
but  Mr.  Emerson's  enterprise  reduced  the  fare  to  four-fifty. 

June  18,  1 801,  this  corporation  obtained  from  the  Massachusetts 
legislature  an  act  granting  it  the  right  to  extend  its  road  about  four  miles 
into  that  state.  By  1821  the  business  had  become  so  poor  that  the 
owners  had  practically  abandoned  the  road,  and  we  find  the  town  of 
Keene  voting  in  that  year  to  keep  the  old  turnpike  in  repair.  Two  years 
later  the  town  laid  it  out  as  a  public  highway. 

In  1824  the  corporation  was  allowed  to  surrender  its  charter  and  turn 
its  road  over  to  the  municipalities,  which  it  had  already  done  apparently. 
July  4,  1837,  the  legislature  repealed  the  act  of  incorporation. 

The  location  of  this  road  at  Bellows  Falls  was  determined  by  the 
fact  that  a  bridge  across  the  Connecticut,  the  first  one  erected  over  that 
river,  was  already  in  place.  Another  turnpike  company  was  incorpo- 
rated in  Vermont  six  weeks  before  the  act  creating  the  Third  New 
Hampshire,  which  continued  the  line  of  travel  from  the  bridge  at  Bel- 
lows Falls  well  along  toward  Rutland.  That  company  was  the  Green 
Mountain,  and  in  connection  with  it  in  the  Vermont  section  some  notes 
on  the  Bellows  Falls  Bridge  are  given. 

The  Third  New  Hampshire  Turnpike  was  the  predecessor  of  the 
Cheshire  Railroad,  now  the  Cheshire  Branch  of  the  Fitchburg  Division 
of  the  Boston  and  Maine  Railroad.  But  while  the  turnpike  had  dared 
to  cross  the  foot  of  Monadnock's  steep  sides,  the  railroad  engineers 
used  better  judgment  and  bore  their  road  well  to  the  south. 


THE    FOURTH    NEW   HAMPSHIRE   TURNPIKE 

The  Fourth  New  Hampshire  Turnpike  Corporation  was  formed  in 
1800  with  authority  to  build  from  "the  east  bank  of  the  Connecticut 
River  in  Lebanon,  nearly  opposite  the  mouth  of  White  River,  to  the 
west  bank  of  the  Merrimac  River  in  Salisbury  or  Boscawen;  and  a 
branch  running  to  it  southeasterly  from  White  River  Falls  Bridge  in 
Hanover."  Boscawen  was  selected  for  the  easterly  terminus  and  the 
road  began  there  at  the  bridge  from  Fisherville,  according  to  Coffin's 
"  History  of  Boscawen  and  Webster,"  which  also  notes  that  turnpikes 
were  built  in  response  to.  the  increasing  demands  of  travelers,  due  to  the 
rapid  advance  of  civilization  northward  to  northern  New  Hampshire 
and  Vermont. 

Directly  opposite  to  the  Massachusetts  custom,  the  incorporators  of 
[220] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   NEW   HAMPSHIRE 

New  Hampshire  companies  were  allowed  to  lay  out  their  roads  in  ac- 
cordance with  their  own  judgment,  a  much  more  equitable  method  and 
which,  subject  to  approval  by  a  public-service  commission,  now  prevails 
generally  in  provisions  for  railroad  locations.  In  this  connection  it  is 
interesting  to  note  a  statement  in  an  article  on  this  corporation  in  the 
Granite  Monthly  for  March,  1 88 1,1  that  this  road  was  located  by  a 
committee  selected  entirely  from  men  outside  of  New  Hampshire. 
McClintock  says  the  estimated  cost  was  six  hundred  dollars  a  mile,  but 
the  road  actually  cost  $61,157,  or  over  $1200  a  mile. 

Eastman's  "  History  of  Andover  "  recites  that  completion  of  the 
road  was  delayed  by  the  competition  between  the  south  and  center  vil- 
lages of  Salisbury,  which  was  finally  compromised  by  building  through 
both.  The  Andover  section  was  built  by  Captain  Stephen  Harriman  of 
Vermont,  who  gathered  quite  a  remarkable  contractor's  outfit.  A  light 
frame  house  was  built  on  trucks  for  the  accommodation  of  himself  and 
family,  which  was  moved  as  the  work  progressed  by  eight  yoke  of  oxen. 
The  twenty  men  who  composed  his  force  were  accommodated  in  tents, 
and  two  daughters  of  the  boss  prepared  their  meals  by  means  of  a  large 
iron-hooped  brick  oven  built  on  a  solid  platform  on  wheels.  The  road 
was  completed  and  opened  in  the  fall  of  1804,  and  the  toll  gatherers 
installed,  being  sworn  to  the  faithful  discharge  of  their  duties  and  giving 
sureties  for  five  hundred  dollars  each. 

As  in  the  country  served  by  the  Third  New  Hampshire,  the  custom 
soon  prevailed  in  the  section  of  the  Fourth  of  making  annual  fall  trips 
to  Boston  for  the  disposal  of  products.  On  many  a  pleasant  winter 
evening  the  Common,  east  of  Moulton's  Tavern  in  Andover,  might  have 
been  seen  covered  with  parked  sleighs  and  sleds  of  many  varieties,  from 
the  huge  van  drawn  by  eight  horses  to  the  little  one-horse  pung  filled 
with  the  butter,  cheese,  poultry,  etc.,  of  the  New  Hampshire  or  Ver- 
mont farmer  seeking  a  market  "  down  below." 

In  1833  changes  in  the  road  were  allowed  in  Lebanon  and  Enfield, 
and  in  1840  the  road  became  free,  Andover  paying  five  hundred  and 
sixty-six  dollars  for  the  privilege  of  owning  the  portion  in  that  town. 
Eastman  says  that  travel  thereupon  increased  and  continued  in  a  steady 
stream  for  about  seven  years,  or  until  the  Northern  Railroad  was  opened 
between  Concord  and  White  River  Junction.  A  line  of  freight  wagons 
was  run  by  Balch,  each  team  composed  of  eight  well-groomed  white 
horses,  one  seat  being  occupied  by  a  stalwart  negro,  a  striking  figure 
and  unusual  in  those  days.  Heavy  pieces  of  single  freight  were  taken 
by  four-  or  six-horse  teams;  while  the  miscellaneous  travel  was  carried 
in  three-horse  or  "  spike  "  teams;  two-horse  or  "  pod  "  teams;  and  one- 
horse  teams  or  pungs  in  winter. 

The  Fourth  New  Hampshire  was  the  predecessor  of  the  Southern 
Division  of  the  Boston  and  Maine  from  Concord  to  White  River  Junc- 
tion, but  took  a  much  more  direct  course.    Travelers  by  rail  to-day  may 

1  By  John  M.  Shirley,  Esq. 

[221] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

observe  the  old  turnpike  close  beside  the  track  between  Andover  and 
Potter  Place  stations  and  again  in  Lebanon,  but  elsewhere  the  two  are 
far  apart. 

The  Fifth  New  Hampshire  Turnpike  Corporation  hoped  to  build 
about  forty  miles  of  road  from  Piscataqua  Bridge  to  Meredith  Bridge, 
connecting  Portsmouth  with  Lake  Winnepesaukee.  A  five  years'  exten- 
sion of  time  was  secured  in  1810  but  nothing  further  has  been  found. 

The  Sixth  New  Hampshire  Turnpike  Corporation,  chartered  in  1802, 
appears  to  have  been  primarily  a  toll-bridge  corporation,  although  it 
had  authority  to  build  about  ten  miles  of  turnpike  through  Hinsdale 
and  Winchester  to  connect  with  the  branch  of  the  Fifth  Massachusetts 
which  was  built  to  the  state  line  prior  to  1806.  The  New  Hampshire 
corporation  had  authority  to  build  a  toll  bridge  across  the  Connecticut 
River  in  Hinsdale  and  completed  the  same  in  1804.  The  bridge  was 
almost  immediately  destroyed  and  was  rebuilt  in  1805,  this  time  stand- 
ing until  1807,  when  it  was  seriously  damaged  by  a  freshet.  To  enable 
the  company  to  finance  the  repairs  the  legislature  of  1807  gave  sanction 
to  a  lottery  by  which  eight  thousand  dollars  might  be  raised.  The  name 
of  the  corporation  was  changed  in  1852  to  Hinsdale  Bridge  Corpora- 
tion, which  justifies  the  supposition  that  the  turnpike  had  been  previously 
abandoned. 

THE   BRANCH   TURNPIKE 

The  Branch  Road  and  Bridge  Corporation  was  granted  its  charter 
in  the  same  year  to  build  from  the  north  line  of  Fitzwilliam  to  a  road 
between  Keene  and  Swanzey.  This  seems  to  have  been  a  part  of  a 
scheme  of  which  the  Worcester  and  Fitzwilliam  was  to  form  the  Massa- 
chusetts section,  but  the  New  Hampshire  people  had  better  luck,  for  the 
"  History  of  Keene  "  tells  us  that  construction  was  commenced  in  1803 
and  carried  through. 

A  bridge  that  would  stay  in  place  had  never  been  built  across  the 
little  river  at  the  foot  of  Keene's  main  street,  so  town  and  turnpike 
united,  the  town  contributing  four  hundred  dollars,  and  built  the  first 
"  permanent  "  bridge  in  that  location. 

Another  corporation  was  later  formed  which  built  a  section  of  the 
same  route  extending  about  halfway  across  the  town  of  Fitzwilliam, 
leaving  the  balance  to  be  traveled  over  the  public  road. 

From  Keene  to  the  Massachusetts  line  these  two  turnpikes  followed 
closely  along  the  route  later  adopted  by  the  engineers  of  the  Cheshire 
Railroad,  and  while  the  Third  New  Hampshire  anticipated  that  line  in 
its  general  plan  the  Branch  and  the  Fitzwilliam  were  its  predecessors 
in  their  limited  locality. 
[222] 


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THE   TURNPIKES   OF   NEW   HAMPSHIRE 


THE    ORFORD   TURNPIKE 

The  Orford  Turnpike  Corporation  followed  in  1803  with  a  fran- 
chise to  build  from  Orford  Bridge  on  the  Connecticut  River,  through 
Orford  and  Wentworth  to  Aiken's  Bridge  on  the  Baker's  River.  The 
power  to  take  land  was  not  granted  in  the  original  act  of  incorporation, 
and  two  years  later  they  were  back  asking  that  that  omission  might  be 
remedied.  The  request  was  granted  and  we  may  suppose  that  they  then 
proceeded  to  build.  No  records  nor  references  to  this  road  have  been 
found,  except  one  act  of  the  legislature  which  speaks  of  the  Orford 
Turnpike  as  an  existing  road. 

THE   TENTH    NEW    HAMPSHIRE   TURNPIKE 

The  Tenth  New  Hampshire  Turnpike  Corporation,  chartered  in 
1803,  was  the  means  of  bringing  all  the  north  country  into  communi- 
cation with  the  seaports  and  of  stimulating  settlement  and  development 
to  a  greater  extent  than  any  other  New  England  road. 

Following  the  Revolutionary  War  settlements  began  to  creep  up  the 
valley  of  the  Connecticut,  and  by  1785  a  considerable  number  of  people 
had  made  their  homes  as  far  north  as  Lancaster,  New  Hampshire.  But 
their  zeal  had  exceeded  their  prudence  and  once  settled  there  they 
found  themselves  practically  isolated,  the  only  means  of  communication 
with  the  older  parts  of  the  country  being  by  way  of  the  Connecticut 
River  which,  for  all  reasonable  purposes,  was  passable  only  in  winter 
when  frozen  over.  Much  trapping  was  done,  the  accumulated  skins 
being  sent  down  the  river  when  the  traveling  became  good.  It  is  related 
that  Emmons  Stockwell,  a  leading  pioneer  of  Lancaster,  on  such  a  trip 
lost  his  horse  and  a  valuable  load  of  furs  and  almost  his  life  by  break- 
ing through  the  ice.  As  late  as  1791  the  legislature  was  accustomed  to 
refuse  a  seat  to  the  representative  from  Coos.  County  on  account  of  lack 
of  evidence  of  his  election,  due  to  the  difficulties  of  communication. 
Southeasterly  to  southwesterly,  except  through  the  Connecticut  Valley, 
the  mighty  towering  ranges  of  the  White  Mountains  seemed  to  shut  off 
all  possibility  of  northern  Coos  obtaining  any  direct  route  to  the  southern 
part  of  the  state.  The  Crawford  Notch  had  been  discovered  in  1771 
by  Timothy  Nash,  one  of  the  pioneers  of  Lancaster,  who  had  trailed 
a  moose  up  one  of  the  ravines,  and  he  had  noted  the  existence  of  an  old 
Indian  trail,  but  no  thought  was  given  for  many  years  to  the  chance  that 
a  route  might  be  found  in  that  direction.  Gradually,  however,  a  rough 
pioneer  road  was  developed,  which  was  very  difficult  to  keep  in  repair, 
and  in  1803  the  corporation  was  formed  to  improve  the  same  as  a 
turnpike. 

The  description  of  the  route,  as  contained  in  the  act  of  incorpora- 
tion, read  "  from  the  uper  line  in  Bartlett  through  the  Notch  in  the  white 

[223] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

hills,  containing  twenty  miles."  In  such  brief  words  was  expressed  the 
location  of  a  road  which  for  scenic  grandeur  has  few  equals  in  the 
world.  Winding  down  through  the  bottom  of  that  gigantic  cleft  in 
the  mountains,  with  the  peaks  towering  thousands  of  feet  almost  directly 
overhead  and  often  hidden  from  view  by  the  clouds,  the  builders  of 
this  road  must  have  felt  a  reverential  awe,  as  if  in  the  immediate  pres- 
ence of  Divinity  itself.  The  scene  is  thrilling  enough  to-day  when  viewed 
from  passing  railroad  train  or  automobile;  even  more  so  when  seen,  as 
by  the  writer,  from  on  foot;  but  who  can  conceive  the  feelings  of  one 
who  looked  upon  those  mountain  sides  a  century  ago  when  in  their 
primeval  glory,  and  who  was  unprepared  by  painting  or  written  descrip- 
tion for  the  scene  which  burst  upon  him.  Through  such  grandeur  the 
Tenth  New  Hampshire  thrust  its  road,  which  immediately  became  an 
avenue  of  great  importance,  and  over  which  a  heavy  stream  of  traffic 
flowed  for  many  years. 

The  "  History  of  Coos  County  "  says  of  this  road: 

This  furnished  an  avenue  to  the  seaports  and  became  one  of  the  best  paying 
roads  in  all  northern  New  Hampshire.  Until  the  advent  of  the  railroad,  this  was 
the  great  outlet  of  Coos  County,  and  the  thoroughfare  over  which  its  merchandise 
came  from  Portland.  In  winter  often,  lines  of  teams  from  Coos,  over  half  a  mile 
in  length,  might  be  seen  going  down  with  tough  Canadian  horses  harnessed  to 
pungs  or  sleighs,  loaded  with  pot  or  pearl  ash,  butter,  cheese,  pork,  lard,  and 
peltry,  returning  with  well  assorted  loads  of  merchandise. 

In  the  heart  of  the  Notch  between  the  stupendous  mountain  sides  the 
Willey  family  made  their  home  beside  the  turnpike,  and  were  widely 
known  for  several  years  among  those  traveling  the  road.  One  June 
morning  in  1826  the  father  of  the  family  witnessed  one  of  the  landslides 
which  have  left  such  deep  scars  on  the  slopes,  and  after  that  the  family 
felt  less  secure  in  their  home  beneath  the  overhanging  mountains.  So 
when  the  furious  storm  of  August  27  in  the  same  year  burst  upon  them 
their  fears  became  more  acute,  and  when  above  the  roar  of  the  storm 
they  heard  the  grinding  and  crashing  of  another  slide  on  its  way  down 
the  mountain,  a  panic  seized  the  entire  family  and  they  rushed  forth 
from  the  shelter  of  the  house  directly  into  the  path  of  the  landslide,  by 
which  they  were  crushed.  When  traffic  was  resumed  the  first  to  pass 
found  the  Willey  House  standing  as  of  old  but  without  occupants.  Vari- 
ous household  articles  were  scattered  around,  as  they  had  been  dropped 
in  the  moment  of  flight,  and  the  family  Bible  lay  open  on  the  table.  For 
many  days  the  fate  of  the  family  was  unknown,  but  their  bodies  were 
finally  uncovered  by  the  work  of  repairing  the  road.1 

The  Tenth  New  Hampshire  was  a  part  of  a  comprehensive  turnpike 
scheme  which  planned  to  connect  Portland  with  Lake  Champlain.  We 
have  already  noted  the  incorporation  of  a  company  to  build  a  turnpike 
through  the  Maine  towns  of  Fryeburg,  Baldwin,  and  Standish  on  the 

1  "The  White  Mountains,"   Harper's  Monthly,  Volume  55,  page  327. 
[224] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   NEW   HAMPSHIRE 

way  to  Portland,  and  that  the  road  did  not  appear  in  consequence  of 
such  incorporation.  Such  a  turnpike  would  have  been  another  link  in 
the  scheme.  The  Littleton  Turnpike,  incorporated  later,  was  to  connect 
the  Tenth  with  the  Connecticut  River  at  Upper  Waterford;  and  from 
there  to  Lake  Champlain  the  Northern  Turnpike  of  Vermont  was  to 
complete  the  route.  But  the  Littleton  did  not  materialize,  and  the 
Northern  succeeded  in  building  only  about  eight  miles  of  its  road  from 
St.  Johnsbury  to  Danville.  So  the  great  turnpike  scheme  failed  of  cort- 
summation,  but  the  public  roads  over  the  greater  part  of  the  route  were 
sufficiently  good  to  encourage  the  continuance  of  the  heavy  traffic  de- 
manded by  the  trade  of  Coos  County  and  northern  Vermont. 

Certain  doings  of  the  corporation  were  confirmed  by  the  legislature 
by  an  act  passed  in  1853,  from  which  it  appears  that  the  turnpike  con- 
tinued its  collections  for  a  full  half-century  and  only  ceased,  like  many 
of  its  Massachusetts  contemporaries,  when  obliged  to  do  so  by  the  com- 
peting railroad. 

In  turnpike  days  the  travelers  were  stern  and  sober  men  intent  upon 
the  hard  problems  of  wresting  a  living  from  the  pioneer  soil,  or  those 
engaged  in  the  weary  and  arduous  task  of  teaming  the  necessary  freight 
over  the  hundred  miles  of  dusty  roads.  Seldom  we  can  imagine  did 
women  or  children  pass  over  the  turnpike,  and  but  few  sounds  of  mer- 
riment might  be  heard.  To  those  who  did  pass,  luxury  was  unknown, 
and  the  journey  was  made  with  the  jolting  and  discomfort  of  "  dead-ex  " 
wagons. 

How  different  to-day  is  the  personnel  of  travel.  Almost  entirely  is 
it  made  up  of  light-hearted  summer  tourists,  the  gay  dresses  and  laugh- 
ing voices  of  the  fair  sex  predominating,  as  they  whirl  by  in  luxurious 
automobile  or  view  the  wonderful  scenery  from  the  specially  fitted  ob- 
servation car  on  the  railroad. 

Along  the  primitive  road  through  the  Notch,  which  is  said  to  have 
been  built  as  early  as  1785,  a  number  of  small  taverns  for  the  enter- 
tainment of  travelers,  including  the  Willey  House,  were  built  at  an  early 
date.  But  with  the  advent  of  the  turnpike  in  1803  the  first  real  hotel  in 
the  White  Mountain  region  appeared,  it  being  erected  near  the  site  of 
the  present  Fabyan  House.  This  was  an  ambitious  structure  of  two 
stories  and  its  opening  marked  an  era  in  the  development  of  transporta- 
tion to  the  north  country. 

The  storm  of  1826,  to  which  allusion  has  already  been  made,  was 
almost  a  vital  blow  to  the  turnpike,  many  miles  of  the  road  being  washed 
away  and  all  but  two  of  its  many  bridges  emigrating  toward  the  ocean. 
Tradition  tells  us  that  the  business  men  of  Portland,  appreciative  of  the 
great  good  done  to  that  town  by  the  Tenth  New  Hampshire,  made  a 
liberal  contribution  of  cash  toward  the  reconstruction  of  the  road. 

The  Portland  and  Ogdensburg  Railroad,  realizing  the  old  turnpike 
ambition  of  connecting  Portland  with  northern  Vermont,  completed  its 
track  through  the  Crawford  Notch  and  commenced  running  its  trains 

[225] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

in  1876,  which  is  as  near  the  date  of  the  freeing  of  the  Tenth  New 
Hampshire  Turnpike  as  we  have  been  able  to  determine.  Most  of  the 
authorities  consulted  agree  that  the  road  became  free  about  the  time 
that  the  railroad  was  opened. 

THE    MAYHEW   TURNPIKE 

•  The  Mayhew  Turnpike  Corporation,  created  in  1803,  built  a  road 
sixteen  miles  in  length  from  the  southerly  part  of  Bristol  to  the  westerly 
edge  of  Plymouth  near  the  Rumney  line.  The  charter  did  not  confer 
the  right  to  take  land  by  condemnation,  which  delayed  the  beginning 
of  the  work.  In  1805  that  omission  was  remedied  and  the  road  was 
promptly  built,  being  completed  that  same  year.  The  turnpike  ran 
through  the  central  part  of  Bristol,  skirted  the  eastern  shore  of  New 
Found  Lake,  and  crossed  the  eastern  part  of  Hebron  and  the  western 
part  of  Plymouth  to  a  junction  with  the  old  "  Cohos  Road,"  which  ran 
from  Plymouth  to  Haverhill. 

We  get  some  information  regarding  this  road  from  Musgrove's 
"  History  of  Bristol,"  which  tells  us  that  the  southerly  termination  of  it 
was  at  the  "  Peaslee  Graveyard  south  of  Smith's  River."  One  tollgate 
was  on  North  Main  Street  and  was  attended  for  many  years  by  the 
Rev.  Walter  Sleeper  and  his  wife.  Mrs.  Sleeper  must  have  been  a 
woman  of  spirit,  for  it  is  related  that  one  day  after  a  storm  a  traveler, 
complaining  that  the  road  had  not  been  broken  out,  refused  to  pay  his 
toll,  upon  which  she  refused  to  open  the  gate.  Finally  he  threw  a  silver 
dollar  at  her  feet  in  the  snow.  Returning  from  the  house  with  the 
change  in  small  pieces  she  made  delivery  to  him  as  she  had  received 
the  dollar.  A  deed  found  in  the  registry  of  deeds  in  Woodsville  es- 
tablishes the  location  of  this  tollhouse.  The  land  was  conveyed  to  the 
corporation  by  Moses  Sleeper  and  is  described  as  a  part  of  "  lot  22  in 
the  3rd  division,"  which  lot  lay  across  the  outlet  of  New  Found  Lake 
about  two  thirds  of  the  distance  down  to  the  confluence  with  the  Pemi- 
gewasset  River.  It  was  then  in  Bridgewater,  but  is  now  a  part  of  Bris- 
tol, and  in  18 16  the  corporation  was  allowed  to  buy  not  over  three  acres 
near  the  tollgate,  probably  that  the  toll  gatherer  might  have  a  garden. 

At  the  November  term  of  court  in  1839  a  petition  was  entered  for 
a  public  layout  over  this  turnpike,  and  in  September,  1840,  the  road  was 
made  free,  the  corporation  being  awarded  sixteen  hundred  dollars' 
compensation. 

It  is  unlikely  that  this  turnpike  enjoyed  a  monopoly.  Its  object  was 
to  make  a  short  cut  across  a  long  curve  made  by  the  road  which  followed 
the  bank  of  the  Pemigewasset  through  Bridgewater  and  Plymouth. 
The  westerly  part  of  Bridgewater  through  which  the  Mayhew  passed 
is  rough  and  hilly,  and  the  turnpike  had  many  steep  ascents  which 
made  it  a  weak  competitor  with  the  easy  grades  of  the  "  River  Road." 
The  latter  was  an  ancient  thoroughfare,  being  the  southerly  continu- 
[226] 


Plate  LX  —  Webster  Tavern,  Bridgewater,  New  Hampshire 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   NEW   HAMPSHIRE 

ation  of  the  old  "  Cohos  Road,"  connecting  that  route  with  Concord 
and  through  that  place  with  the  Massachusetts  region. 

As  early  as  1760  a  house  was  erected  on  the  "River  Road,"  near 
the  banks  of  the  Pemigewasset  in  eastern  Bridgewater,  which  soon  after 
was  in  use  as  a  tavern.  That  the  travel  over  the  old  road  was  not  to 
any  great  extent  diverted  by  the  opening  of  the  turnpike  seems  evident 
from  the  fact  that  another  and  larger  house  was  erected  within  a  hun- 
dred yards  of  the  first  one  in  1806,  the  year  after  the  completion  of 
the  Mayhew,  to  meet  the  increasing  demands  for  hospitality.  Under  the 
able  management  of  the  Webster  family  these  taverns  thrived  until  the 
railroads  finally  diverted  the  travel  which  the  turnpike  could  not  entice 
away.   • 

The  Webster  taverns  still  stand  with  barns  of  unusual  capacity  for 
keeping  horses  and  wagons  near  by.  Within,  the  old  houses  possess  a 
wealth  of  articles  of  days  gone  by.  The  old  four-post  bedsteads  are 
still  in  use,  and  light  is  often  supplied  by  means  of  the  old-fashioned 
dipped  tallow  candles.  In  the  dining  room  an  old-time  brick  fireplace 
has  in  recent  years  been  uncovered  from  the  board  and  wall  paper  which 
was  thought  preferable  by  an  older  generation  and  offers  a  most  at- 
tractive picture  to  the  fortunate  guest.  In  and  around  it  are  grouped 
the  various  utensils  by  which  the  luxury  of  a  century  ago  was  produced; 
the  tongs,  shovel,  and  andirons  for  producing  warmth  and  the  warming 
pan  by  which  that  warmth  would  accompany  the  guest  to  bed.  On  the 
left  may  be  seen  the  old  Dutch  oven,  and  in  front  of  the  coals  stands 
the  tin  baker  in  which  the  direct  and  reflected  rays  from  the  fire  produce 
heat  enough  to  bake.  To  the  right  is  the  old  tavern  office  and  bar,  the 
old  bracketed  desk  seen  through  the  open  door,  while  the  facilities  for 
serving  drinks  are  indicated  by  the  halved  door  with  a  shelf  on  the 
lower  portion. 

THE    DOVER   TURNPIKE 

The  proprietors  of  the  Dover  Turnpike  Road  were  incorporated  also 
in  1803  and  opened  a  road  from  Dover  through  Somersworth  to  Salmon 
Falls  on  the  way  to  South  Berwick,  Maine,  on  May  17,  1805.  We  learn 
from  Wadleigh's  "  Notable  Events  in  the  History  of  Dover  "  that  the 
road  became  free  February  7,  1840. 

This  road  was  promoted  in  connection  with  the  Maine  Turnpike 
Association,  which  proposed  to  continue  the  work  to  the  Kennebec  River 
at  Augusta,  but  as  we  have  already  seen,  the  Maine  corporation  failed 
to  carry  out  its  plans. 

The  Coventry  Turnpike  Corporation  was  another  product  of  the 
legislature  of  1803.  It  is  doubtful  if  anything  was  done  by  this  com- 
pany on  its  route  from  Warren  to  Haverhill,  as  another  corporation  a 
few  years  later  was  allowed  to  build  over  the  same  route. 

[227] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

The  Bath  Turnpike  Corporation  was  created  in  1804  to  build 

from  the  Connecticut  River,  near  the  south  line  of  Lyman,  through  Lyman,  Bath, 
Landaff,  Coventry,  Peeling,  and  Thornton,  to  the  east  line  of  Sandwich. 

At  the  time  of  the  application  for  the  charter  of  this  company  a 
bridge  was  under  construction  across  the  Connecticut  River  at  Mclndoe 
Falls,  which  was  the  point  described  above  as  "  near  the  south  line  of 
Lyman."  The  westerly  part  of  Lyman  was  set  off  in  later  years  as  the 
town  of  Monroe,  but  then  the  two  towns  were  one.  The  Lyman  Bridge 
Company  was  incorporated  in  1803,  and  built  its  bridge  during  the  fol- 
lowing year.  The  first  structure  lasted  an  even  thirty  years  and  was 
replaced  by  the  present  wooden-covered  bridge  in  the  summer  of  1834. 
Although  the  turnpike  was  never  built,  it  is  of  interest  as  a  part  of  the 
larger  scheme  of  which  the  bridge  was  a  unit. 

The  Lyman  Bridge  consists  of  two  spans  of  wooden  Howe  truss 
with  board  siding  and  shingle  roof.  Some  thirty  years  ago  the  safety 
factor  was  increased  by  the  insertion  of  wooden-packed  arch  beams  from 
which  the  floor  system  was  suspended,  thus  taking  all  load  off  the  trusses 
which  have  since  served  only  to  support  the  walls  and  roof.  The  struc- 
ture offers  a  most  interesting  study  for  the  bridge  engineer,  the  most 
striking  point  being  the  evidence  of  the  youth  of  the  iron  and  steel  in- 
dustry. Throughout  the  bridge  except  in  the  roof  not  a  particle  of  iron 
was  used,  the  various  members  being  fastened  together  by  means  of 
wooden  treenails.  The  exception  is  found  in  the  use  of  hand-forged 
nails  which  held  in  place  the  old-fashioned  hewn  shingles. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  eighty-second  year  of  the  bridge's  existence 
the  entire  structure  was  subjected  to  a  most  thorough  inspection  to  deter- 
mine what  renewals  were  necessary  for  absolute  safety.  Not  a  trace 
of  weakness  or  decay  was  found  above  the  floor,  and  only  about  one- 
third  of  the  stringers  carrying  the  floor  planking  were  found  unfit  for 
further  use.  Immediately  after  the  defective  stringers  were  replaced 
and  an  entire  new  floor  of  plank  was  laid,  thus  starting  the  bridge  on 
another  long  career  of  usefulness. 

In  connection  with  its  bridge  the  corporation  found  it  necessary  to 
build  a  road  from  Mclndoe  Village  in  Vermont,  and  from  the  village 
of  Monroe  in  New  Hampshire,  about  three  quarters  of  a  mile  in  all. 
The  tollhouse  and  gate  have  always  been  located  on  the  Vermont  side 
close  to  the  bridge. 

Had  the  turnpike  been  built,  thus  putting  the  bridge  on  an  important 
long  line  of  road,  the  bridge  corporation  would  doubtless  have  had  a 
remunerative  investment,  but  being  left  by  itself  the  bridge  and  its  con- 
necting roads  have  served  merely  as  a  local  connection  between  two 
country  districts.  Consequently  while  the  earnings  have  always  com- 
fortably exceeded  the  expenses  the  property  has  never  been  a  gilt-edged 
security,  and  of  late  years  has  not  profited  by  the  increased  automobile 
touring. 
[228] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   NEW   HAMPSHIRE 

A  majority  of  the  corporation's  stock  was  acquired  many  years  ago 
by  the  Van  Dykes,  who  were  then  operating  the  lumber  business  and  log 
drives  on  the  Connecticut  River.  It  is  now  entirely  owned  by  the  Con- 
necticut Valley  Lumber  Company. 

In  1804  the  Union  Turnpike  Corporation  was  formed  and  given  the 
privilege  of  building  a  road  "  from  the  Second  New  Hampshire  Turn- 
pike, in  Hillsboro,  through  Heniker  and  Hopkinton,  to  Concord  main 
street."  No  more  has  been  found  concerning  this  road,  and  since 
the  official  "  History  of  Concord  "  fails  to  include  it  in  a  selected  list 
of  such  roads  which  "  were  of  direct  concern  to  Concord  "  it  is  con- 
cluded that  the  road  was  not  built. 

The  Great  Ossipee  Turnpike  Corporation,  formed  in  1804,  was  a 
part  of  the  plan  which  we  have  already  noted  in  connection  with  the 
Ossapee  Turnpike  Corporation  formed  in  Massachusetts  March  16, 
1805.  The  scheme  was  to  connect  Sandwich,  New  Hampshire,  with  the 
Maine  port  of  Saco  by  way  of  Effingham,  but  it  does  not  seem  that  any 
steps  were  taken  toward  construction  of  the  road. 

We  have  seen  the  proposal  to  connect  Lake  Champlain  with  Port- 
land, Maine,  by  a  grand  series  of  turnpikes  which  included  the  Tenth 
New  Hampshire.  Preliminaries  for  another  section  were  taken  in  1804 
when  the  Littleton  Turnpike  Corporation  was  incorporated.  No  im- 
mediate results  appeared,  and  in  1807  the  corporation  secured  an  act 
amending  its  original  route,  so  that  it  then  read  "  from  the  end  of  the 
Tenth  New  Hampshire  Turnpike,  near  the  Notch,  through  Bretton 
Woods,  Bethlehem,  and  Littleton,  to  the  Connecticut  River  opposite  the 
Northern  Vermont  Turnpike."  In  1808  and  again  in  18 12  extensions 
of  time  were  secured,  and  the  last  time  the  company  was  allowed  to 
terminate  its  road  in  Bethlehem  instead  of  at  the  Connecticut  River.  All 
of  which  plainly  shows  that  difficulty  was  found  in  raising  the  necessary 
capital,  and  we  are  not  surprised  to  learn  from  Bowles'  "  History  of 
Bethlehem  "  that  the  turnpike  was  never  completed.  According  to  that 
authority  James  Turner  of  Bethlehem,  under  contract  with  the  company, 
built  a  section  of  the  road  for  which  he  never  received  compensation,  as 
the  corporation  did  not  complete  its  organization. 

As  a  part  of  the  grand  turnpike  scheme  which  we  have  outlined  the 
First  Littleton  Bridge  Corporation  was  chartered  in  1802  to  build  a 
bridge  over  the  Connecticut  River  between  Littleton  and  Upper  Water- 
ford  in  Vermont.  This  it  is  readily  seen  was  to  close  the  gap  left  be- 
tween the  Littleton  Turnpike,  which  was  to  terminate  on  the  easterly 
bank  of  the  river,  and  the  Northern  Turnpike,  which  being  a  Vermont 
corporation  began  at  the  state  boundary,  which  was  the  westerly  bank. 
Or  finding  the  bridge  already  there  the  turnpike  projectors  secured 
their  charters  so  as  to  lead  to  it. 

[229] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

The  First  Littleton  Bridge  Corporation  is  still  in  active  life,  as  many 
an  automobile  tourist  can  testify.  Several  bridges  have  yielded  to  decay 
and  flood,  the  present  structure,  a  steel  truss  of  a  span  of  two  hundred 
and  forty  feet  having  been  in  its  place  since  1890.  For  many  years  the 
bridge  collections  languished  at  a  starvation  level,  but  since  the  advent 
of  the  automobile  and  its  increasing  tourist  travel  the  stock  has  gone  to 
a  premium.  This  bridge  offers  the  only  means  of  crossing  the  Con- 
necticut River  in  the  length  of  the  Fifteen  Mile  Falls,  and,  except  the 
occasional  facility  offered  by  Grant's  Ferry  at  the  head  of  the  Falls, 
gives  the  only  opportunity  between  the  Stevens  Village  Bridge  below 
Barnet  and  the  ferry  at  Dalton,  a  distance  of  over  nineteen  miles.  The 
bridge  at  Lower  Waterford,  although  still  shown  on  the  road  maps, 
went  down  the  river  over  twenty-five  years  ago  on  the  crest  of  a  log  jam 
and  has  never  been  replaced. 


THE   JEFFERSON   TURNPIKE 

The  Jefferson  Turnpike  Corporation,  formed  by  an  act  of  1804,  con- 
nected the  northerly  end  of  the  Tenth  New  Hampshire  with  the  village 
of  Lancaster.  The  public  roads  must  have  been  good  enough  for  the 
travel  over  them,  for  this  road  seems  to  have  had  little  encouragement 
and  did  not  last  long.  In  18 10  an  act  was  passed  extending  the  limit 
within  which  the  road  must  be  completed  to  18 16.  But  it  was  finally 
built,  and  in  true  turnpike  fashion,  if  we  are  to  believe  the  "  History  of 
Coos  County,"  which  tells  us  that  "  up  Israel's  River  it  was  as  straight 
as  a  line,  was  well  drained,  and  worked  twenty-two  feet  wide."  Ac- 
cording to  the  "  History  of  Lancaster,"  the  Jefferson  was  abandoned 
by  its  proprietors  soon  after  the  floods  of  1826. 


THE   GRAFTON   TURNPIKE 

The  Grafton  Turnpike  Corporation  was  formed  by  an  act  of  1804 
for  the  purpose  of  building  a  road  from  Orford  Bridge  to  the  Fourth 
New  Hampshire  Turnpike  in  Andover.  As  was  the  case  with  other 
corporations  formed  about  this  time,  the  right  to  take  land  was  not  at 
first  conferred,  and  it  was  necessary  to  appeal  to  the  legislature  of 
1805  before  the  company  could  make  headway  in  securing  its  right-of- 
way.  We  read  in  Wallace's  "  History  of  Canaan  "  that  the  stock  was 
peddled  out  in  small  lots  among  the  residents  of  the  district  to  be  served, 
and  that  a  long  hard  job  was  made  of  it.  In  1807  the  promoters  were 
still  soliciting  subscriptions.  Of  the  capital  stock  of  three  hundred 
shares,  one  hundred  and  seventeen  were  taken  by  residents  of  Canaan, 
which  town  must  have  felt  a  vital  interest  in  the  success  of  the  road,  for 
at  a  town  meeting  in  1807  it  was  voted  to  turn  all  available  resources 
into  cash  with  which  to  invest  in  Grafton  Turnpike  stock.  Fifteen  shares 
[230] 


Dalton  Ferry,  Dalton,  N.  H. 

First  Littleton  Toll  Bridge,  Upper  Waterford,  Vt. 

Plate  LXII 


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THE  TURNPIKES   OF  NEW   HAMPSHIRE 


were  consequently  bought,  which  were  sold  four  years  later  at  a  depre- 
ciation of  one  third. 

A  meeting  was  finally  held  on  July  4,  1 807,  at  the  inn  of  Moses  Dole, 
at  which  a  contract  was  made  with  Thaddeus  Lathrop  and  John  Currier 
to  build  one  hundred  and  thirty  rods  of  the  road  for  two  hundred  dollars 
payable  in  stock.  The  road  was  to  be  made  thirty  feet  wide  generally, 
but  only  twenty-four  on  causeways,  and  the  surface  was  to  have  a 
crown  of  twenty-four  inches.  But  as  the  expiration  of  the  time  ap- 
proached in  1808,  it  was  seen  that  the  work  could  not  be  completed 
within  the  time  allowed,  so  an  extension  was  secured  for  another  three 
years. 

The  road  was  finally  completed,  terminating  on  the  Fourth  New 
Hampshire  at  West  Andover  or  Potter  Place,  as  the  railroad  station 
is  called,  having  passed  through  Grafton,  Danbury,  and  South  Danbury, 
"  about  as  the  main  road  is  now  travelled,"  says  Eastman  in  his  "  His- 
tory of  Andover." 

Wallace  says  the  road  was  made  free  in  1827.  The  charter  of  the 
corporation  was  repealed  by  the  legislature  January  3,  1829. 


THE   LONDONDERRY  TURNPIKE 

The  road  of  the  Londonderry  Turnpike  Corporation,  also  incor- 
porated in  1804,  ran  as  straight  as  it  could  be  laid  out  from  Butters 
Corner  in  Concord  to  the  state  line  near  Andover  Bridge,  where  it  con- 
nected with  the  Essex  Turnpike  of  Massachusetts,  and  formed  with 
that  about  as  direct  a  line  between  Concord  and  Boston  as  one  could 
reasonably  wish.  An  additional  act  was  secured  in  1805  by  which  the 
erection  of  a  toll  bridge  was  allowed  at  "  Islehookset  Falls,"  where  the 
turnpike  crossed  the  Merrimac  River. 

The  "  History  of  Concord  "  says  that  this  road  was  opened  about 
1806,  having  its  northerly  terminus  at  the  corner  of  West  and  Main 
streets,  where  a  stone  stood  for  many  years  marked  with  the  inscription 
"  Boston  63  miles."  Passing  southerly  the  road  skirted  the  river 
through  Bow,  although  forming  a  chord  across  a  long  bend  of  the 
Merrimac,  and  passed  diagonally  across  the  town  of  Hooksett.  In 
Auburn  it  passed  between  the  Massabesic  lakes  and  over  Mount  Misery 
and  Rattlesnake  Hill,  leaving  the  future  city  of  Manchester  four  miles 
to  the  west,  thence  through  Derry  Center  and  across  the  northerly  end 
of  Canobie  Lake  to  the  Essex  Turnpike  at  the  Massachusetts  line.  This 
turnpike  pointed  straight  for  the  top  of  the  hill  over  which  the  Essex 
climbed  in  Methuen.  Consequently  we  find  that  its  last  mile  has  given 
way  to  a  detour  which  provides  more  distance  for  the  rise. 

In  1807  the  corporation  was  authorized  to  buy  land  for  tollhouses 
and  buildings  for  public  entertainment,  provided  not  over  two  thousand 
dollars  was  spent  for  land. 

[23O 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 


THE    CROYDEN    TURNPIKE 

The  Croyden  Turnpike  Corporation,  chartered  in  1804,  built  its 
road  from  the  point  in  Lebanon  where  the  branch  of  the  Fourth 
New  Hampshire  intersected  the  main  road  of  that  company,  southerly 
through  Lebanon,  Enfield,  Grantham,  Croyden,  and  Newport  to  the 
Second  New  Hampshire  in  Lempster.  This  company  also  had  to 
return  to  the  legislature  in  1805  to  obtain  the  power  to  take  land. 


THE   CHESTER   TURNPIKE 

The  seventh  company  created  by  the  legislature  of  1804  was  the 
Chester  Turnpike  Corporation  which  began  in  a  small  way,  entirely 
within  the  town  of  Chester,  its  route  being  defined  as 

from  the  highway  leading  to  Pembroke,  about  a  mile  above  Chester  East  meeting- 
house, unto  Chester  line,  on  a  direction  to  Pembroke  street. 

But  courage  grew  rapidly,  and  at  the  December  session  they  secured  an 
amendment  by  which  they  could  build  all  the  way  to  Pembroke  Street. 

In  1806  the  corporation  was  authorized  to  buy  land  adjacent  to  the 
turnpike  on  which  to  erect  houses  for  entertainment  and  accommodation 
of  the  public,  provided  it  did  not  spend  over  six  thousand  dollars. 

The  charter  of  this  company  was  repealed  in  1838. 


THE    CHESHIRE   TURNPIKE 

Another  1804  creation  was  the  Cheshire  Turnpike  Corporation. 
This  company  built  from  the  Connecticut  River  to  Charlestown  meeting 
house,  thence  through  Charlestown,  Langdon,  Alstead,  and  Surrey  to 
the  courthouse  in  Keene,  where  its  road  joined  the  Third  New  Hamp- 
shire Turnpike. 

We  learn  from  Saunderson's  "  History  of  Charlestown  "  that  this 
road  was  built  about  the  time  that  the  First  Cheshire  Bridge  was  com- 
pleted. That  bridge  was  also  authorized  by  an  act  of  1804.  From 
Saunderson  we  get  the  impression  that  the  road  was  not  popular,  for 
he  tells  us  that  the  gates  were  often  stolen,  —  a  crude  way  of  expressing 
resentment  which  has  not  been  noticed  in  connection  with  more  than  one 
other  road. 

The  Cheshire  Turnpike  became  free  in  1841,  but  the  Cheshire  Bridge 
is  still  collecting  its  tolls  in  this  year  1919. 


THE    COOS   TURNPIKE 

The  Coos  Turnpike  Corporation  was  formed  in  1805,  and  its  road 
extended  "  from  Haverhill  Corner,  through  Haverhill,  Piermont,  and 

[232! 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   NEW   HAMPSHIRE 

Warren,  to  Baker's  River,  near  Merrill's  Mills,  in  Warren."  The  pre- 
liminaries advanced  slowly  as  we  have  noticed  in  most  of  the  northern 
projects.  The  region  was  new  and  poor,  while  the  country  at  large  was 
far  from  affluent,  and  the  fact  that  any  such  public  improvements  were 
undertaken  with  such  poor  chances  of  financial  success  testifies  to  the 
sturdy  spirit  of  the  northern  pioneers. 

The  route  was  surveyed  in  1806  by  Captain  Benjamin  P.  Baldwin, 
and  on  December  3  of  that  year  twenty-four  landowners  along  the  sur- 
veyed line  executed  a  deed  to  the  turnpike  corporation,  making  con- 
veyance of  whatever  land  was  needed  for  the  building  of  the  road.  As 
no  consideration  was  asked,  the  land  being  given  freely,  we  must  add  a 
tribute  to  the  public  spirit  of  those  farmer  settlers. 

Although  Coos  County  had  been  given  an  outlet  through  the  Craw- 
ford Notch  over  the  Tenth  New  Hampshire,  the  old  route  down  the 
Connecticut  Valley  still  held  its  place  on  account  of  the  ties  which  bound 
the  Coos  settlers  to  the  lower  valley  towns  from  which  many  of  them 
had  come,  and  they  all  hailed  with  enthusiasm  the  coming  of  the  Coos 
Turnpike.1 

Bettinger's  "  History  of  Haverhill "  states  that  the  road  was  com- 
pleted in  1808  and  was  for  more  than  a  generation  the  great  thorough- 
fare in  northern  New  Hampshire,  and  made  Haverhill  during  these 
years  the  most  important  and  lively  town  north  of  Concord. 

This  turnpike  was  the  predecessor  in  the  section  which  it  covered  of 
the  Concord  and  Montreal  Railroad,  later  the  White  Mountain  Divi- 
sion of  the  Boston  and  Maine,  and  it  continued  its  operations  well  down 
toward  the  date  of  the  railroad  opening. 

One  day  the  passengers  on  a  south-bound  train  passing  through 
Warren  noticed  an  old  man  who  was  eagerly  gazing  from  the  window 
as  he  rapidly  went  by  the  lower  end  of  the  old  Coos  Turnpike.  At  last 
as  he  passed  a  dilapidated  old  building  he  leaned  back  in  his  seat  with 
the  satisfied  air  of  one  who  has  found  what  he  sought.  On  the  con- 
ductor's sympathetic  advances  he  told  his  story.  When  a  boy  in  St. 
Johnsbury  he  had  been  hired  as  a  helper  in  driving  a  flock  of  five  hun- 
dred turkeys  from  that  town  to  Lowell,  and  the  tumble-down  old  rookery 
which  he  had  recognized  had  been  one  of  the  comfortable  taverns  at 
which  he  had  stopped  on  the  way.  The  drive  became  a  notable  proces- 
sion, and  word  of  its  coming  was  carried  in  advance  by  the  more  rapid 
travelers  who  passed  it,  so  that  whole  villages  would  be  on  the  watch 
for  its  arrival.  As  the  birds  became  accustomed  to  the  manner  of 
progressing,  more  ceremony  developed,  and  soon  our  youthful  custo- 
dian found  that  he  could  lead  the  way  with  the  flock  following  him. 
A  gobbler  of  especial  dignity  soon  assumed  a  position  beside  the 
leader,  and  thus  the  procession  advanced  at  the  rate  of  about  twenty- 
three  miles  a  day  until  its  destination  was  reached  without  the  loss  of 
a  single  bird. 

1  "  History  of  Lancaster." 

[233] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


THE   ASHUELOT   TURNPIKE 

In  1807  the  Ashuelot  Turnpike  Corporation  was  created  and  made 
its  road  from  "  the  turnpike  in  Winchester  to  Fitzwilliam  Village 
towards  Boston."  Nothing  has  been  found  concerning  this  road  except 
one  legislative  act  which  proves  that  the  turnpike  was  built.  In  that  act, 
passed  in  1826,  it  was  provided  that  unless  the  road  was  properly  re- 
paired before  October  3  of  that  year  the  charter  would  stand  repealed. 


THE    HAMPTON    CAUSEWAY 

Taylors  River,  with  long  reaches  of  salt  marsh  on  either  side,  sepa- 
rates Hampton  from  Hampton  Falls,  and  in  early  days  there  was  no 
way  of  journeying  from  one  place  to  the  other  without  a  devious  trip 
around  the  upper  end  of  the  marshes.  This  condition  had  become  so 
onerous  by  1807  that  it  was  the  subject  of  consideration  at  a  Hampton 
town  meeting  in  that  year,  when  a  committee  was  chosen  to  devise  means 
of  financing  a  road  across  the  soft  ground.  The  best  this  committee 
could  do  was  to  obtain  from  the  legislature  an  act  authorizing  the  town 
of  Hampton  to  make  extensive  improvements  in  a  certain  causeway 
which  seems  to  have  existed  over  part  of  the  route,  to  build  a  bridge 
over  the  river  and  to  collect  tolls  on  the  same,  which  act  was  passed  in 
the  same  year,  1 807.  But  the  town  was  not  prepared  to  expend  so  much 
money  and  much  dissatisfaction  was  expressed  resulting  in  inaction. 

In  1808  the  Hampton  Causeway  Turnpike  Corporation  was  formed 
to  build  a  turnpike  from  Sanborns  Hill  in  Hampton  Falls  to  a  point  in 
Hampton,  bridging  the  river,  and  widening,  raising,  and  repairing*  the 
existing  causeway.  Davis'  "  History  of  Hampton  "  says  that  the  town 
of  Hampton  subscribed  for  ten  shares  of  the  stock  of  the  new  company, 
and  in  18 10,  in  consideration  of  every  inhabitant  of  Hampton  being 
allowed  to  pass  free  of  toll,  agreed  to  gravel  the  turnpike  annually 
"  from  the  northerly  end  to  the  middle  bridge  on  the  causeway,  over  the 
sluiceway."  The  road  thus  sanctioned  and  built  was  about  two  and  a 
quarter  miles  in  length,  mostly  on  the  old  causeway  already  noted,  and 
was  a  safe  and  easy  road  to  travel,  but  travelers  from  outside  of  Hamp- 
ton chafed  under  the  imposition  of  tolls.  Some  distance  above  a  small 
bridge  was  built  which  was  known  as  the  "  Shunpike  Bridge,"  and  al- 
though involving  a  longer  trip,  it  diverted  much  travel  from  the  legiti- 
mate road. 

In  1 82 1  the  court  of  sessions  laid  out  the  road  which  passed  over  the 
"  Shunpike  Bridge  "  as  a  county  road  in  spite  of  the  opposition  offered 
by  Hampton.  The  contest  was  continued  through  1822,  in  September  of 
which  year  the  town  voted  to  incur  more  expense  in  fighting  the  new 
road  "  and  to  defend  the  turnpike."  Although  laid  out  by  the  court,  the 
building  of  the  new  road  was  finally  prevented. 
[234] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   NEW   HAMPSHIRE 

Various  citizens  of  Portsmouth  and  Newburyport  petitioned  the 
legislature  for  an  investigation  to  determine  if  the  Hampton  Causeway 
Turnpike  Corporation  had  not  violated  the  provisions  of  its  charter 
so  that  its  turnpike  had  become  forfeited.  Although  the  asked-for  in- 
vestigation was  ordered,  it  does  not  appear  to  have  had  any  results  ad- 
verse to  the  corporation. 

Negotiations  between  the  town  and  the  corporation  were  carried  on 
in  1825,  in  consequence  of  which  legislative  permission  was  secured  and 
the  road  was  sold;  Hampton  paying  three  thousand  dollars,  and  Hamp- 
ton Falls  two  thousand  dollars.  The  road  thus  became  free  on  April  12, 
1826. 

This  turnpike  and  its  bridge  crossed  the  Taylors  River  about  three 
miles  up-stream  from  the  upper  waters  of  Hampton  Harbor.  To  follow 
it  to-day  one  should  leave  Hampton  on  the  road  passing  by  the  old 
Whittier  Tavern  and  journey  out  over  the  marshes.  The  turnpike  must 
not  be  confused  with  the  lengthy  Hampton  River  Bridge  on  which  tolls 
are  still  collected  in  this  year  1 9 1 9.  That  bridge  was  built  by  a  corpora- 
tion organized  under  the  New  Hampshire  general  laws  December  5, 
1900.  It  crosses  Hampton  Harbor,  so  called,  a  bay  formed  by  the 
Blackwater  River  and  the  Hampton  River.  It  is  4619  feet  in  length, 
by  some  said  to  be  the  longest  wooden  bridge  in  the  world,  and  is 
located  between  Seabrook  and  Hampton,  passing  through  a  portion 
of  Hampton  Falls.  It  is  owned  by  the  Granite  State  Land  Company 
of  Haverhill,  Massachusetts. 


THE    FITZWILLIAM    TURNPIKE 

The  Fitzwilliam  Turnpike  Corporation  was  chartered  in  1808  to 
build  from  Fitzwilliam  Village  to  the  Worcester  Turnpike  at  the  Massa- 
chusetts line.  The  road  of  this  corporation  connected,  not  with  the 
Worcester  Turnpike  which  led  from  Boston  to  Worcester,  but  with 
the  Worcester  and  Fitzwilliam  Turnpike,  whose  proprietors  at  the  time 
of  this  incorporation  were  having  a  great  deal  of  trouble  in  financing 
their  road.  As  finally  built  the  Massachusetts  road  reached  from  the 
state  line  only  to  Baldwins  Mills,  a  distance  of  about  eight  and  a  half 
miles,  falling  short  of  reaching  Worcester  by  about  twenty-eight  miles. 


THE    CORNISH   TURNPIKE 

The  Cornish  Turnpike  Corporation,  created  in  1808,  connected  the 
Croyden  Turnpike  in  Newport  with  Cornish  Bridge,  over  the  Connecti- 
cut, between  Cornish  and  Windsor,  Vermont. 

The  Cornish  Bridge  was  built  in  1796  at  a  cost  of  $17,099.27,  we 
find  by  reference  to  Child's  "  History  of  Cornish."  Much  of  the  traffic 
over  the  bridge  must  have  followed  the  turnpike,  so  we  may  note  that 

[235] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

the  bridge  passed  over  a  heavy  traffic  in  sheep  and  cattle  between  1824 
and  1840,  and  that  a  full  thousand  sheep  crossed  September  30,  1833. 

In  1829  the  attorney-general  of  New  Hampshire  was  instructed  by 
the  legislature  to  ascertain  what  corporate  rights  the  Cornish  Turnpike 
Corporation  possessed.  This  probably  indicates  that  the  road  had  be- 
come unprofitable  and  had  been  allowed  to  fall  into  bad  condition  and 
possibly  indicates  the  end  of  the  turnpike.  The  thousand  sheep  passing 
on  that  September  day  would  have  paid  toll  of  only  a  dollar  a  mile,  so 
we  can  see  that  that  business  did  not  pay  for  the  consequent  repairs. 

The  road  of  the  Londonderry  Branch  Turnpike  Corporation  left 
the  Londonderry  Turnpike  at  the  northerly  end  of  the  bridge  at  "  Isle 
of  Hookset  Falls  "  and  ran  through  the  town  of  Bow  to  Hopkinton 
Center.  This  corporation  was  formed  by  act  of  1812,  and  in  18 16 
secured  an  extension  of  one  year  on  its  time  limit. 

THE   AMHERST   TURNPIKE 

The  Amherst  Turnpike  Corporation,  although  created  in  1812,  did 
not  complete  its  road  for  several  years,  obtaining  a  four  years'  extension 
of  time  in  1815.  But  it  was  finally  successful  and  its  road  formed  a 
continuation  of  the  Middlesex  Turnpike  of  Massachusetts,  connecting 
with  that  road  at  the  line  of  Tyngsboro  on  the  westerly  bank  of  the 
Merrimac  River. 

Continuous  turnpike  roads  were  thus  offered  from  the  West  Boston 
Bridge  in  Cambridge  to  Claremont,  New  Hampshire,  over  the  Second 
New  Hampshire  and  to  Hanover,  New  Hampshire,  over  the  Croyden. 

The  Milford  Turnpike  Corporation  was  granted  its  franchise  in 
18 15  to  build  a  road  from  the  Massachusetts  line  at  Pepperell  and 
Hollis  through  Hollis,  Milford,  and  Mt.  Vernon  to  the  Second  New 
Hampshire  Turnpike.  We  have  already  noted  two  Massachusetts 
companies  —  the  Westford  and  Lexington  and  the  Groton  and  Pep- 
perell —  which  tried  to  build  portions  of  this  same  route  but  did  not 
succeed.  It  seems  most  probable  that  the  New  Hampshire  end  of  the 
scheme  fared  no  better  and  that  this  company  never  built  its  road. 

In  1 824  a  grant  of  public  land  was  made  by  the  state  of  New  Hamp- 
shire to  Daniel  Pinkham  upon  condition  that  he  should  make  a  road 
running  through  such  grant.  This  tract  of  land  occupied  the  valley  of 
the  headwaters  of  the  Ellis  and  Peabody  rivers,  extending  practically 
from  Glen  Ellis  Falls  to  the  Glen  House,  and  its  remote  situation  offered 
so  little  assistance  in  road  building  that  the  grantee  was  obliged  to  appeal 
to  the  legislature  for  an  extension  of  the  time  within  which  he  was  to 
complete  such  a  road.  In  1834  a  corporation  was  formed  under  the 
name  of  the  "Proprietors  of  the  Pinkham  Turnpike  Road"  to  build 
"  through  Pinkham  Grant  to  the  Pinkham  road  in  Randolph,"  thirteen 
[236] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   NEW   HAMPSHIRE 

miles.  Apparently  the  conditions  had  not  much  improved  since  Pink- 
ham's  day,  for  the  corporation  four  years  later  applied  for  and  secured 
an  extension  of  its  time  for  one  year  expiring  December  I,  1839.  In 
1840  a  legislative  act  allowed  alterations  in  the  established  rates  of  toll, 
from  which  it  would  appear  that  the  road  was  built  and  operated  as  a 
turnpike.  Whether  so  or  not  a  road  has  existed  for  many  decades  along 
the  route  laid  out  for  the  toll  road,  and  half  a  century  ago  it  was  a  stage 
route  of  some  importance.  For  its  whole  length  the  turnpike  location 
is  a  state  road  to-day,  part  of  it  being  in  the  New  Hampshire  "  East 
Side  Road  "  which  leads  from  Portsmouth  to  Errol  and  thence  to  Cole- 
brook.  Two  and  a  half  miles  northerly  from  the  Glen  House  the  old 
road,  now  known  as  the  "  Dollycops  Road,"  bears  off  to  the  west  and 
passing  between  the  Presidential  Range  and  the  steep  slopes  of  Pine 
Mountain  follows  across  the  southwesterly  corner  of  Gorham,  across 
Moose  River  to  the  main  road  in  Randolph. 

The  Dollycops  were  an  amiable  old  couple  who  lived  in  a  house  the 
cellar  of  which  is  yet  to  be  seen  near  the  bridge  over  the  Peabody  River. 
Local  tradition  has  it  that  the  husband  and  wife,  although  occupying 
the  same  house,  did  not  speak  to  each  other  for  twenty  years. 

Persistent  inquiry  in  Gorham  and  Berlin  has  failed  to  discover  any- 
one who  ever  heard  of  a  toll  road  through  the  Pinkham  Notch,  and  one 
descendant  of  Daniel  Pinkham  is  positive  that  none  ever  existed.  But 
why  was  an  act  passed  regarding  the  rates  of  toll  which  could  be 
collected  on  the  road  if  the  franchise  had  expired  the  year  before 
and  the  road  had  not  been  opened?  Reader,  the  case  is  left  for  your 
judgment. 

But  whether  turnpike  or  not  the  old  road  offers  not  the  least  beauti- 
ful among  the  many  noted  White  Mountain  rides,  yielding  as  it  does 
from  near  the  Glen  House  an  unsurpassed  view  of  the  Great  Gulf  and 
the  Presidential  Range.  Farther  south  a  surpassing  scene  is  revealed 
of  Huntington  and  Tuckerman's  ravines  and  the  Alpine  Garden,  the 
sharp  slopes  and  the  mountain  outlines  rising  in  startling  profile.  About 
a  mile  west  from  the  lower  end  of  the  turnpike  franchise  a  less-known 
feature  is  found.  Poised  in  apparent  insecurity  on  a  steep  slope  an 
enormous  bowlder  seems  about  to  roll  down  the  hillside  at  the  slightest 
touch.  And  for  miles  the  Ellis  and  Peabody  rivers  show  their  charms 
at  every  turn. 

The  Winnepiseogee  and  White  Mountain  Turnpike  Company  ap- 
peared in  1852,  having  a  charter  to  build  from  Birch  Intervale,  now 
known  as  Wonalancet,  in  Tamworth  through  Albany  and  Elkins  Grant 
to  the  Tenth  New  Hampshire  Turnpike  about  two  miles  below  the  old 
Crawford  House. 

No  road  has  yet  penetrated  the  wilds  which  this  company  sought  to 
traverse,  save  the  winding  paths  of  the  lumbermen,  and  this  project 
counts  another  in  the  list  of  those  that  never  bore  fruit. 

[237] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 


THE    MOUNT   WASHINGTON    SUMMIT   ROAD 

After  the  opening  of  the  Tenth  New  Hampshire  Turnpike  a  few 
venturesome  travelers  visited  the  White  Mountains,  but  it  was  not  until 
1 8 19  that  any  encouragement  was  offered  for  the  making  of  a  path  by 
which  the  summit  of  Mount  Washington  could  be  reached.  In  that  year 
Ethan  Crawford  cut  a  path  for  that  purpose  over  which  he  could  guide 
the  few  tourists  who  had  the  hardihood  to  make  such  an  ascent,  and  in 
1 82 1  he  opened  another  path  along  the  line  afterwards  utilized  by  the 
mountain-climbing  railroad.  Both  of  these  paths  led  up  from  the  Craw- 
ford Notch,  access  to  which  was  only  to  be  had  by  means  of  the  Tenth 
New  Hampshire  Turnpike,  and  it  appears  that  early  paths  were  soon 
after  developed  by  which  the  summit  might  be  reached  from  the  eastern 
side;  from  the  valley  of  the  Androscoggin  River. 

The  Davis  Trail  recently  reopened  by  the  Appalachian  Mountain 
Club  was  first  cut  out  about  1846  to  accommodate  travelers  coming  over 
the  turnpike.,  but  owing  to  its  excessive  length  and  steep  grades  did  not 
prove  successful. 

In  a  short  while  the  easterly  routes  became  much  more  popular 
and  the  larger  part  of  the  travelers  found  their  way  to  Mount  Washing- 
ton by  way  of  Gorham.  The  Alpine  House  in  Gorham,  for  many  years 
before  the  advent  of  the  Atlantic  and  St.  Lawrence  Railroad,  now  the 
Grand  Trunk,  was  known  as  the  Gate  of  the  Mountains  and  enjoyed  a 
large  proportion  of  the  patronage  of  the  White  Mountain  travelers. 
When  about  1850  the  railroad  approached  Gorham,  mountain  travel 
that  way  increased,  and  in  1852,  when  the  road  was  completed  to  that 
town,  Gorham  began  to  enjoy  almost  a  monopoly  of  the  mountain- 
climbing  class  of  tourists. 

At  that  time  the  means  of  access  to  the  summit  from  the  Gorham 
side  consisted  of  a  path  leading  up  through  Tuckerman's  Ravine.  Over 
this  path  and  those  from  the  Crawford  side  so  many  made  the  ascent 
that  the  construction  of  a  modest  hotel  on  the  summit  was  completed 
in  1 85 1.  Encouraged  by  the  increased  rush  of  travelers  over  the  new 
railroad  the  Glen  House  appeared  in  1852,  and  soon  after  the  proprie- 
tor of  that  hostelry  cut  out  a  bridle  path  to  the  summit  over  which  he 
maintained  a  lucrative  business  with  saddle  horses  for  several  years. 
But  soon  the  turnpike  idea  invaded  the  solitudes. 

In  1853  the  Mount  Washington  Road  Company  was  incorporated 
with  turnpike  privileges  to  build 

from  Peabody  River  valley,  over  the  top  of  Mount  Washington,  to  a  point  between 
the  Notch  and  Cherry  Mountain. 

From  Kilbourne's  "  Chronicles  of  the  White  Mountains  "  we  learn 
that  the  corporation  was  organized  in  the  same  year  at  a  meeting  held 
in  Gorham,  and  that  the  route  was  surveyed  in  1854. 
[238] 


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First  arrivals  at  the  Summit  Glen  House  about  1867 

Looking  down  Chandler  Ridge 

Huntington's  Ravine,  Mount  Washington  Tuckerman's  Ravine,  seen  from  Pinkham  Road 

Plate  LXIV — Mount  Washington  Summit  Road 


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THE   TURNPIKES   OF   NEW   HAMPSHIRE 

Commissioners  were  duly  appointed  to  lay  out  the  road  and  assess 
the  damages  for  land  taken.  They  reported  that  248  }4  rods  lay  through 
the  land  of  J.  M.  Thompson,  the  proprietor  of  the  Glen  House,  for 
which  they  assessed  damages  to  the  amount  of  thirty-five  hundred  dol- 
lars. To  John  Bellows  for  land  taken  for  ninety-seven  rods  of  road 
they  awarded  one  dollar,  and  for  the  2280^4  rods  through  Sargent's 
Purchase  and  other  owners  unknown,  nothing.  But  it  appeared  that  the 
commissioners  were  influenced  in  their  award  to  Thompson  by  the  fact 
that  he  was  in  the  business  of  letting  saddle  horses  for  the  trip  to  the 
summit  over  his  bridle  path  and  that  the  thirty-five  hundred  dollars  was 
not  payment  for  the  land  taken  but  was  awarded  to  him  as  the  conjec- 
tured damage  which  his  business  would  sustain  from  the  competition  of 
the  turnpike.  From  this  award  the  corporation  appealed,  contending 
that  the  commissioners  had  not  the  power  to  assess  conjectural  damages 
of  a  collateral  nature.  Thompson  came  back  at  them  with  a  sweeping 
set  of  declarations.  He  averred  that  the  granting  of  a  charter  for  a  road 
for  purely  pleasure  purposes  was  unconstitutional  and  such  action  by  the 
legislature  void;  that,  if  constitutional  the  charter  was  defective  on  ac- 
count of  no  provision  being  in  it  by  which  the  state  could  take  the  road 
or  terminate  the  corporate  existence;  and  that  the  power  to  take  land 
was  illegal  because  the  charter  did  not  specify  that  an  appeal  could  be 
had  to  a  jury  if  a  landowner  was  dissatisfied  with  the  commissioners' 
award. 

To  all  of  these  assertions  the  supreme  court  in  January,  1857,  gave 
a  denial,  fully  maintaining  the  legality  of  the  company's  formation.  On 
the  company's  appeal  from  the  award  of  damages  it  was  decided  that 
the  commissioners  had  erred  and  that  they  had  no  authority  to  assess 
damages  for  any  other  purpose  than  to  pay  for  land.  So  a  new  hearing 
on  that  question  was  ordered.1 

Construction  commenced  in  1855  and  was  pushed  with  so  much 
energy  that  within  two  years  the  road  was  completed  for  half  its  length. 
Then  financial  difficulties  stopped  the  work,  and  in  1858  the  corporation 
was  obliged  to  ask  an  extension  of  its  time.  The  legislature  allowed 
it  until  August  1,  1861,  to  complete  the  road;  but  the  difficulties  into 
which  the  company  had  fallen  were  too  great  for  that  remedy,  and  the 
Mount  Washington  Road  Company  gave  up  its  existence.  In  1859  the 
Mount  Washington  Summit  Road  Company  was  created  and  allowed  a 
route  worded  the  same  as  that  of  the  earlier  company,  and  that  company 
took  over  the  completed  portion  of  the  road  and  built  the  rest,  giving 
access  to  the  summit  by  carriages  in  August,  1861.  Under  the  fran- 
chise of  1859  the  carriage  road  up  Mount  Washington  is  still  in  opera- 
tion, and  for  passing  over  it,  tolls  are  still  collected. 

A  writer  in  Harpers'  Monthly  for  August,  1877,  said  of  this  road: 

For  the  first  four  miles  it  winds  among  a  dense  growth  of  forest  trees,  and  then 
passes  through  a  ravine,  and  over  the  eastern  side  of  the  mountain.     The  grade  is 

1  Fogg's  "New  Hampshire  Reports,"  Volume  3s,  page  134. 

[239] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

easy  and  the  roadbed  excellent.  Each  turn  discloses  some  new  prospect  —  a  wide 
valley  faintly  green,  with  a  brook  or  a  river  flashing  through  it;  a  deep  dell,  with  a 
swaying  sea  of  foliage;  an  overhanging  cliff  that  seems  to  render  impossible  any 
further  ascent ;  or  a  wonderful  array  of  peaks. 

The  dense  growth  of  forest  trees  noted  in  1877  has  disappeared  by 
reason  of  successive  lumbering  operations,  but  a  substantial  growth  of 
timber  is  in  its  place  to-day,  and  still  the  first  four  miles  of  the  journey 
is  made  through  its  shadows.  Approaching  the  halfway  point  the  limit 
of  vegetation  is  noticed,  and  for  a  half  mile  or  so  the  road  seems  to  be 
the  dividing  line,  the  growth  on  the  lower  side  being  noticeably  heavier. 
Emerging  from  the  timber  at  the  Ledge  near  the  Half  Way  House,  the 
road  continues  in  the  same  northerly  direction  for  about  a  half  mile, 
then  doubles  on  itself  and  starts  on  its  long  climb  up  the  crest  of  Chand- 
ler Ridge.  As  soon  as  the  obstruction  of  the  trees  is  removed  a  succes- 
sion of  magnificent  views  is  opened  to  the  eye  of  the  northern  peaks  of 
the  White  Mountain  Range,  Jefferson,  Adams,  and  Madison,  and  of 
the  Great  Gulf,  which  lies  between  them  and  Mount  Washington.  Near- 
ing  the  summit  the  road  skirts  the  edge  of  a  sharp  declivity,  overlooking 
the  Alpine  Garden  and  Huntington  Ravine.1 

In  its  length  of  eight  miles  the  road  makes  the  ascent  from  an  eleva- 
tion of  1543  feet  above  sea  level  to  the  altitude  of  6293  feet,  the  highest 
point  in  New  England.  The  average  grade  is  thus  seen  to  be  594  feet 
to  the  mile,  while  the  maximum  grade  is  said  to  be  at  the  rate  of  880  feet. 

The  memory  of  John  P.  Rich,  one  of  the  unlucky  contractors  under 
the  first  company  and  superintendent  of  construction  for  the  second,  is 
perpetuated  by  a  memorial  tablet  set  by  the  road  near  the  base  of  the 
mountain.  Others  to  whom  credit  for  this  bold  enterprise  and  achieve- 
ment is  due  are  David  O.  Macomber  of  Middletown,  Connecticut,  the 
projector  of  the  scheme  and  first  president  of  the  corporation,  and 
C.  H.  V.  Cavis,  to  whose  engineering  skill  are  due  the  practical  grades 
by  which  the  summit  is  reached. 

On  account  of  the  deep  cliffs  often  almost  under  the  passenger's  elbow 
and  the  possibility  of  a  frightful  accident,  great  care  has  always  been 
exercised  by  the  management  in  the  selection  of  its  drivers,  and  only 
extra  strong  and  steady  horses  with  specially  built  vehicles  are  used. 
Consequently  but  one  accident  in  which  a  passenger  was  killed  lies  to  the 
charge  of  the  company.  In  the  summer  of  1880  a  wagon  carrying  nine 
people  down  the  mountain  upset  at  a  sharp  turn  in  the  road  about  a  mile 
below  the  Half  Way  House,  throwing  the  passengers  on  to  the  rocks, 
killing  one,  and  injuring  all  the  others. 

THE   WARNER   AND    KEARSARGE   TURNPIKE 

The  Kearsarge  Summit  Road  Company  was  incorporated  in  1864, 
authority  being  given  it  to  build  from  Kearsarge  Village  to  the  top  of  the 

1  "Mount  Washington,"  by  Frank  H.  Burt. 
[240] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF  NEW  HAMPSHIRE 

mountain  named.  But  the  franchise  was  allowed  to  expire  and  was  re- 
vived by  legislative  act  in  1873.  In  1877  a  time  extension  of  ten  years 
was  granted,  which  seems  sufficient  to  prove  that  nothing  was  ever  done 
under  that  charter.  Especially  are  we  inclined  to  think  so  because  little 
need  would  seem  to  exist  for  two  roads  up  that  one  mountain,  and 
another  company  did  build  such  a  road. 

In  1866  the  Warner  and  Kearsarge  Road  Company  was  formed  to 
construct  a  road  to  the  summit  from  either  Warner  or  Salisbury  and 
that  company  carried  out  its  plan.  But  not  immediately,  for  we  find  that 
it  had  to  apply  for  a  revival  of  its  expired  rights  in  1872,  at  which  time 
the  town  of  Warner  was  allowed  to  subscribe  for  shares  of  its  capital 
stock  to  an  amount  not  exceeding  two  thousand  dollars.  That  the  road 
had  been  completed  by  1875  appears  from  an  act  passed  in  that  year, 
which  allowed  the  corporation  to  acquire  land  on  the  top  of  the  moun- 
tain on  the  line  of  its  road.  Permission  was  given  in  the  same  act  to  sell 
land  to  the  United  States  for  the  purposes  of  a  signal  station.  On  the 
ninth  of  March,  1893,  the  charter  of  the  company  was  revived  and  given 
a  new  life  of  ten  years,  authority  then  being  given  to  build  a  branch 
connecting  the  toll  road  with  the  highway  at  Smith's  Corner.  February 
10,  1903,  a  further  addition  of  ten  years  of  life  to  the  charter  was  en- 
acted, since  which  time  nothing  has  been  found  on  the  records.  Since 
the  expiration  of  the  last  period  of  grace  the  corporation  has  lapsed, 
and  its  road,  while  not  assumed  by  the  town  of  Warner,  is  free  from  toll. 

Two  other  projects  for  which  charters  were  granted  in  1866  did  not 
materialize.  The  Mount  Hayes  Turnpike  Company  sought  to  build  to 
the  summit  of  that  mountain  from  the  county  road  in  Shelburne;  and 
the  Mount  Lafayette  Road  Company  aspired  to  provide  a  toll  road  from 
the  highway  between  the  Profile  and  Flume  houses  to  the  highest  point 
in  the  Franconia  Range. 

THE    MOUNT   WASHINGTON    TURNPIKE 

A  successful  venture  was  that  of  the  Mount  Washington  Turnpike 
Company,  which  was  chartered  in  1867  and  allowed  a  route  extending 
from  the  Fabyan  House  to  the  foot  of  Mount  Washington.  After  many 
years  of  persistent  effort,  in  spite  of  ridicule  and  discouragements,  Sylves- 
ter March  had  at  last  succeeded  in  interesting  capital  in  his  plan  to  build 
a  railroad  up  Mount  Washington,  construction  having  been  commenced 
on  that  undertaking  in  May,  1866.  The  form  of  cars  and  locomotive 
to  be  used  on  the  new  road,  being  adapted  to  the  steep  grades  to  be 
encountered,  naturally  was  not  suitable  for  operation  on  level  ground 
and  the  mountain-climbing  railroad  necessarily  made  its  terminus  at  the 
foot  of  the  mountain.  That  was  several  miles  from  the  nearest  road, 
which  was  the  Tenth  New  Hampshire  Turnpike,  while  the  nearest  rail- 
road station  was  at  Littleton,  twenty-five  miles  away.     So  the  turnpike 

[241] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

was  conceived  as  a  means  of  transporting  to  the  site  of  the  new  railroad 
the  various  supplies  necessary  for  its  construction  and  equipment,  and 
later  to  derive  profit  from  the  tolls  collected  from  tourists  on  their  way 
to  the  mountain.  The  view  here  reproduced  from  an  old  stereoscopic 
photograph  '  shows  the  base  of  Mount  Washington  and  the  terminus  of 
the  railroad.  This  point  then  was  the  easterly  objective  of  the  Mount 
Washington  Turnpike,  and  the  photograph,  taken  about  1867,  shows  the 
nature  of  the  region  through  which  the  road  was  built. 

The  profitable  life  of  this  turnpike  was  destined  to  be  short,  for 
summer  travel  to  the  White  Mountains  was  growing  very  popular  and 
it  was  unlikely  that  the  railroads  would  long  leave  such  a  lucrative  field 
unoccupied.  As  already  stated,  the  Boston,  Concord,  and  Montreal 
Railroad  was  completed  as  far  as  Littleton  when  the  turnpike  was  pro- 
jected, and  it  lost  no  time  in  pushing  nearer.  But  times  were  hard  and 
the  construction  proceeded  by  piecemeal.  Between  1873  and  1876  the 
rails  crept  ahead  a  little  at  a  time,  until  Fabyans  was  reached,  after 
which  the  remaining  five  miles  to  the  base  was  rushed,  the  whole  length 
being  opened  for  passengers  July  6,  1876. 

But  the  turnpike  still  held  on,  and  its  rates-of-toll  sign  at  the  Fabyans 
end  was  long  a  familiar  object  to  tourists  with  its  unique  spacing.  Many 
will  recall  the  heading: 

RATES    OF   TOLL   ON   THE    MT.   WAS 
HINGTON   TURNPIKE 

The  railroad  must  have  felt  the  competition  of  the  old-fashioned  com- 
petitor, for  early  in  1882  a  small  block,  three  eighths  of  the  total  of  the 
capital  stock,  was  bought  by  the  directors  of  the  Boston,  Concord,  and 
Montreal  Railroad,  and  later  purchases  resulted  in  the  acquisition  of 
it  all. 

In  1885  authority  was  secured  from  the  legislature  to  extend  the 
Mount  Washington  Turnpike,  called  in  the  act  the  "  White  Mountain 
Turnpike,"  to  a  junction  with  the  Mount  Washington  Summit  Road,  but 
the  plan  was  never  carried  out. 

But  even  railroad  managers  could  not  make  turnpike  success  and  they 
were  glad  to  get  rid  of  the  road.  May  13,  1903,  the  turnpike  was 
deeded  to  the  state  of  New  Hampshire. 

The  Waumbeck  Road  Company  was  incorporated  in  1868,  the 
proposition  then  being  to  build  a  road  from  Jefferson  southerly  to  the 
line  of  the  Mount  Washington  Railway.  The  next  year  saw  a  change 
in  the  plan,  the  legislature  granting  permission  to  change  the  terminus 
from  Jefferson  to  Randolph.  It  does  not  seem  that  anything  was  done 
under  authority  of  this  charter,  but  the  scheme  calls  for  comment  as  it 
anticipated  the  Jefferson  Notch  Road  which  was  built  by  the  state,  an 
equal  amount  being  privately  contributed  in   1902.     The  tremendous 

1  See  Plate  lxiii. 
[242] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF  NEW   HAMPSHIRE 

difficulties  which  have  been  met  in  maintaining  that  road  show  that  the 
turnpike  corporation  was  fortunate  in  not  assuming  such  a  responsibility. 
Road  and  bridges  have  frequently  been  washed  away  and  the  route  has 
often  been  closed,  once  for  over  a  year. 

In  1869  a  corporation  was  created  under  the  name  of  the  Mount 
Willard  Turnpike  Road  Company  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  road 
from  the  Crawford  House  to  the  summit  of  that  mountain.  As  a  road 
had  been  opened  to  that  summit  in  1846  it  is  to  be  presumed  that  this 
venture  merely  contemplated  the  acquisition  and  improvement  of  the 
existing  road,  but  it  seems  doubtful  if  anything  was  ever  done  under  the 
charter.  The  road  of  to-day,  and  for  many  years  past,  up  Mount  Wil- 
lard is  privately  owned  and  is  open  only  to  those  who  travel  in  the 
vehicles  furnished  by  the  owners  of  the  road.  Had  that  road  been  built 
under  a  turnpike  franchise  it  is  hard  to  see  how  it  could  be  closed  in  such 
a  manner. 

The  Franconia  and  White  Mountain  Notches  Turnpike  Company 
was  formed  in  1870,  and  authorized  to  build  a  turnpike  or  horse  rail- 
road "  from  Sawyer's  Bridge  in  Bethlehem,  to  Franconia  Notch."  The 
next  year  the  right  to  use  steam  instead  of  horses  on  the  railroad  was 
allowed.  No  construction  was  done  by  this  company,  but  it  is  interesting 
to  note  the  similarity  of  its  privileges  with  those  afterwards  utilized  by 
the  branch  railroad  which  runs  from  Bethlehem  Junction  to  the  Profile 
House.  That  railroad  was  built  under  a  charter  granted  on  July  11, 
1878,  to  the  Profile  and  Franconia  Notch  Railroad,  which  company 
operated  it  from  June  25,  1879,  until  1891,  when  the  Concord  and 
Montreal  Railroad  acquired  the  property.  Until  1896  the  road  was 
a  narrow  gauge,  the  change  to  standard  being  made  in  that  and  the 
following  year. 

It  is  also  to  be  noted  that  the  earlier  charter  provided  an  alternative 
form  of  construction,  either  a  turnpike  or  a  horse  railroad.  We  have 
noted  in  the  early  days  of  the  railroads  such  indications  of  faint-hearted- 
ness,  but  it  is  strange  that  in  1870  the  promoters  should  have  had  any 
doubt  of  which  form  of  road  they  wanted. 


THE    MOOSILAUKE    MOUNTAIN   TURNPIKE 

The  turnpike  from  Warren  to  the  summit  of  Moosilauke  Mountain 
is  another  which  is  still  collecting  tolls  in  this  year  of  grace  19 19.  That 
road  was  built  under  authority  of  a  franchise  granted  in  1870  to  the 
Moosilauke  Mountain  Road  Company,  but  like  many  others  seems  to 
have  had  difficulty  in  its  financing.  In  1872  the  legislature  granted  the 
town  of  Warren  the  privilege  of  contributing  not  over  eight  hundred 
dollars  toward  the  construction  of  the  road,  which  must  have  overcome 

[243] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


the  troubles,  for  the  road  was  built  about  that  time.  Kilbourne  says  * 
that  the  Tip  Top  House  on  Moosilauke  was  much  enlarged  in  1872  in 
consequence  of  the  greatly  increased  travel  over  the  new  road. 

Leaving  Warren  Village  and  following  the  North  Woodstock  road 
along  the  bank  of  Baker's  River  for  about  three  miles,  one  comes  to 
a  corner.  The  road  turning  sharply  to  the  left  and  crossing  the  river 
will  lead  you  to  Breezy  Point  where  the  turnpike  begins.  Just  beyond 
the  Moosilauke  Inn  the  tollgate  is  located  and,  having  parted  with  the 
toll,  you  may  proceed  up  the  mountain.  The  road  is  straight  for  a 
mountain  climber  and  its  steep  grades  suggest  that  a  better  route  might 
have  been  found  by  circling  more.  The  length  is  a  little  over  four  miles, 
but  the  wonderful  views  from  the  summit  are  well  worth  the  effort. 
Standing  apart  from  other  eminences  Moosilauke  offers  a  far  wider 
range  of  view  than  other  White  Mountain  peaks. 

In  1 88 1  the  Moosilauke  Mountain  Road  Company  obtained  addi- 
tional franchises  to  build  three  "  bridle  paths  or  carriage  roads  "  from 
various  points  to  the  summit  of  the  mountain,  but  it  does  not  appear  that 
any  work  was  done  in  consequence. 


THE   LINCOLN    TURNPIKE 

Visitors  to  Franconia  always  seek  the  Flume  as  one  of  the  wonders 
never  to  be  missed,  and  to  reach  that  interesting  spot  they  pass  over  and 
pay  toll  on  another  turnpike.  The  Lincoln  Turnpike  Company  was 
created  by  an  act  of  the  legislature  of  1 871,  by  which  it  obtained  the 
right  to  build  its  road  "  from  the  Flume  House  in  Lincoln,  on  the  main 
road,  to  near  the  Flume." 

Tourists  may  have  a  delightful  ride  from  the  Profile  House  down 
the  Pemigewasset  valley,  passing  Profile  Lake,  The  Old  Man  of  the 
Mountain,  The  Basin,  The  Pool,  and  after  five  miles  have  been  counted 
off  find  themselves  at  a  picturesque  opening  in  the  stone  wall  through 
which  automobiles  are  forbidden  to  pass.  This  is  the  gateway  and  place 
of  collection  for  the  Lincoln  Turnpike,  but  barring  automobiles  seems 
inconsistent  with  the  public-utility  nature  of  the  road. 

At  first  the  turnpike  follows  closely  beside  the  main  road  but  soon 
curves  away  from  it,  and  then  falls  abruptly  to  the  romantic  covered 
bridge  over  the  Pemigewasset  River.  A  succession  of  steep  ascents  then 
brings  the  traveler  to  a  looped  end  of  the  road  by  the  rustic  souvenir 
store.    Thence  to  the  Flume  the  climb  must  be  made  on  foot. 

In  the  first  year  of  its  existence  the  Lincoln  Turnpike  saw  the  destruc- 
tion by  fire  of  the  old  Flume  House,  the  one  named  in  its  charter,  but 
within  another  year  saw  the  successor  arise  from  a  site  close  by,  where  it 
in  turn  was  burned  in  1917.  The  Flume  House  of  19 19  is  but  a  small 
building,  merely  a  lunch  room. 

1  "Chronicles  of  the  White  Mountains,"  page  258. 
[244] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF  NEW  HAMPSHIRE 


THE    SANBORN   TURNPIKE 

The  Sanborn  Turnpike  Company  was  incorporated  in  1872  with  a 
franchise  confined  to  the  town  of  Northfield. 

For  many  years  a  private  road  had  existed  across  the  Glidden 
Meadow  in  that  town,  but  opinions  as  to  its  public  necessity  varied. 
Those  believing  such  a  road  to  be  demanded  by  the  mass  of  the  people 
were  unable  to  convince  the  selectmen  who  refused  to  give  it  a  public 
layout.  From  the  controversy  which  ensued  the  turnpike  franchise 
evolved,  the  view  of  the  landowners  apparently  being  that,  if  the  town 
would  not  accept  and  assume  the  road,  those  using  it  should  pay  for  the 
privilege. 

Although  the  road  was  kept  in  good  condition  and  is  in  use  as  a  public 
road  to-day  the  privilege  of  collecting  tolls  was  never  utilized,  and  no 
gate  was  ever  erected  across  the  road.1 

In  1873  a  proposal  to  connect  Bartlett  and  Albany  by  a  turnpike  was 
brought  forward.  In  that  year  the  Saco  and  Swift  River  Turnpike  Com- 
pany was  created  with  authority  to  build  a  road  "  from  the  White 
Mountain  Notch  Road  in  Bardett  to  the  main  road  in  Albany."  A 
cursory  glance  at  the  map  shows  that  that  route  is  devoid  of  transporta- 
tion facilities  to-day,  so  we  can  easily  decide  that  this  turnpike  was  never 
constructed. 

The  Wilmot  and  Kearsarge  Road  Company  was  another  product  by 
the  legislature  of  1873.  This  company  proposed  to  build  a  toll  road 
from  the  Winslow  House  in  Wdmot  up  the  northerly  side  of  Kearsarge 
Mountain  to  the  summit. 

That  two  charters  had  been  issued  for  the  purpose  of  climbing  this 
mountain  we  have  already  seen,  and  that  each  of  them  was  allowed  to 
lapse  and  be  revived.  That  of  the  second  company,  revived  in  1872, 
was  at  this  time  in  full  force,  and  the  road  was  then  or  soon  after  under 
construction. 

THE    UNCANOONUC    ROAD 

A  charter  was  granted  in  1877  forming  the  Uncanoonuc  Road  Com- 
pany and  giving  it  a  franchise  to  build  from  the  mountain  road  on  the 
southerly  side  of  Uncanoonuc  Mountain  in  Goffstown  to  the  summit 
of  that  mountain. 

The  Pierce  farm  was  on  the  southwesterly  side  of  Uncanoonuc  and 
the  homestead  set  back  a  short  distance  from  the  mountain  road.  From 
these  farm  buildings  the  turnpike  started,  and  by  a  precipitous  winding 
course  reached  the  summit  altitude  of  thirteen  hundred  and  twenty-one 

1  Statement  by  William  Lang,  Esq.,  an  old  resident. 

[245] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


feet.  The  Pierce  family  acted  as  toll  gatherers,  and  the  gate  was  at  the 
beginning  of  the  toll  road,  convenient  to  their  house.  The  road  was 
promptly  built  and  was  operated  for  several  years.  Mr.  Flanders,  the 
fire  warden  on  the  summit,  recalls  that  one  Sunday  soon  after  the  open- 
ing he  counted  forty  teams  which  had  made  the  ascent. 

Uncanoonuc  Mountain  is  reached  from  Manchester  by  trolley  and 
mountain  railway  in  forty  minutes  and  is  the  highest  point  in  that  vicin- 
ity. The  ride  to  its  base  is  particularly  attractive,  and  the  novel  ride 
up  the  steep  slope  on  the  incline  railway  affords  a  most  enjoyable 
experience. 

The  Uncanoonuc  Incline  Railway  and  Development  Company  was 
incorporated  in  1903.  Its  road  climbs  the  mountain  side  at  an  average 
grade  of  thirty-five  per  cent.  On  the  summit  of  the  mountain  a  hotel 
has  been  erected,  on  which  is  the  fire  look-out  tower  of  the  New  Hamp- 
shire Forestry  Service. 

In  the  old  days  another  tower  stood  on  slightly  higher  ground,  a  little 
north  of  the  present  tower.  It  was  forty  feet  high  and  braced,  we  can 
believe,  against  any  possible  hurricane,  for  it  is  said  that  the  spread  of 
its  posts  was  sufficient  to  allow  the  building  of  a  dance  hall  within  them 
at  the  bottom. 

From  the  top  of  the  present  tower,  just  over  the  tops  of  the  encircling 
trees  nearly  due  west,  can  be  seen  three  groups  of  farm  buildings.  The 
one  to  the  left  and  closest  to  the  line  of  tree  tops  is  the  Pierce  farm  and 
marks  where  the  old  turnpike  began.  The  other  end  is  close  by  but 
hidden  in  the  trees. 

Down  to  19 1 7  the  road  had  been  allowed  to  shift  for  itself,  and  it 
had  become  little  better  than  a  brook  bed  where  the  running  waters  had 
gullied  it  out,  but  in  the  spring  of  that  year  it  was  temporarily  patched 
to  enable  an  artesian-well  contractor  to  get  his  outfit  hauled  to  the 
summit. 

The  Starr  King  Mountain  Road  Company,  created  in  1881,  aspired 
to  operate  a  turnpike  "  from  Jefferson  Road  in  Jefferson  to  a  point  on 
Starr  King  Mountain,"  but  its  hopes  were  never  realized  and  the  road 
was  never  built. 

Four  years  then  elapsed  before  another  turnpike  corporation  was 
chartered.  Then  on  the  thirteenth  of  August,  1885,  the  Woodstock  and 
Lincoln  Turnpike  Company  appeared.  This  company  proposed  to  build 
from  the  northerly  terminus  of  the  Pemigewasset  Valley  Railroad  in 
North  Woodstock  to  the  summit  of  Pemigewasset  Mountain  in  Lincoln, 
and  to  other  points  of  interest  "  where  roads  do  not  now  exist."  As 
those  desirous  of  ascending  Pemigewasset  Mountain  to-day  are  obliged 
to  be  content  with  a  primitive  path,  we  conclude  that  neither  that  summit 
nor  any  other  point  of  interest  was  made  more  accessible  by  the  efforts 
of  the  Woodstock  and  Lincoln. 
[246] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   NEW   HAMPSHIRE 


THE    LIBERTY   ROAD 

After  another  four,  years  a  new  turnpike  charter  appears,  this  time 
for  access  to  the  summit  of  Chocorua  Mountain  in  the  town  of  Albany. 
In  the  year  1887  James  Liberty  and  his  neighbors  united  to  make  a  road 
up  the  south  side  of  the  mountain,  the  first  from  that  direction,  and  in 
1889  Mr.  Liberty  sought  and  obtained  a  charter  for  himself  and  those 
who  might  associate  themselves  with  him  under  the  name  of  the  Cho- 
corua Mountain  Road.  Authority  was  granted  to  maintain  a  "  bridle 
path  and  carriage  road  from  near  the  dwelling  house  of  Charles  Durell 
in  said  Tamworth  (where  said  road  is  now  located  and  constructed)  to 
the  line  between  the  towns  of  said  Tamworth  and  Albany,  thence  to  the 
top  of  Chocorua  Mountain  in  said  town  of  Albany."  This  was  the  last 
turnpike  charter  granted  in  New  England  by  virtue  of  which  a  turnpike 
was  built  or  operated. 

The  road  of  this  company  offers  the  easiest  of  the  seven  routes  by 
which  Chocorua  may  be  ascended.  It  leaves  the  highway  in  the  north- 
central  part  of  Tamworth,  at  the  Durell  Farm,  and  near  the  "  Nat  Berry 
Bridge."  The  first  third  of  the  distance  is  a  carriage  road  at  the  termi- 
nation of  which  the  toll  is  collected.  Thence  to  the  Peak  House  it  is 
a  bridle  path. 

For  nearly  thirty  years  the  Half  Way  House  stood  at  the  end  of  the 
carriage  road,  housing  both  the  toll  gatherer  and  his  victims.  But  in 
a  violent  gale  which  swept  the  mountain  in  September,  191 5,  the  building 
was  lifted  bodily  and  blown  into  the  valley  several  hundred  feet  below. 

The  last  turnpike  charter  granted  in  New  England  was  enacted  by 
the  New  Hampshire  legislature  March  22,  1893,  when  the  Mount 
Prospect  Turnpike  and  Hotel  Company  was  incorporated.  The  plan 
of  this  company  was  to  build  a  crossroad  in  Lancaster,  connecting 
the  Whitefield  and  the  Jefferson  roads;  another  road  leading  to  the 
summit  of  Mount  Prospect;  and  to  erect  a  hotel  on  that  eminence. 
Nothing  was  ever  done  under  this  charter.  Mount  Prospect  is  now 
owned  by  United  States  Senator  John  W.  Weeks  and  its  summit  is 
crowned  by  his  summer  residence.  The  road  up  the  mountain  is  the 
private  venture  of  Mr.  Weeks. 

A  historical  authority  some  years  ago  published  the  statement  that 
Fifty-three  turnpike  corporations  were  formed  in  New  Hampshire,  and 
this  statement  has  been  repeated  by  several  other  writers  regardless  of 
the  fact  that  charters  continued  to  issue  from  successive  legislatures  for 
many  years  after  the  first  assertion. 

In  addition  to  the  fifty-one  which  have  been  noticed  in  the  preceding 
pages,  the  following  thirty-one  corporations  were  created,  which  have 
left  no  records  after  their  incorporation. 

[247] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

1802  Seventh  New  Hampshire   ....  Charlestown  to  Surry. 

1803  Charlestown Charlestown  to  Lempster. 

1804  Richmond Royalston,  Mass.,  to  Swanzey. 

Hillsborough Andover   to  Massachusetts  line   toward 

Boston. 

Chesterfield Chesterfield  to  Warwick,  Mass. 

Stoddard Walpole    to    Amoskeag    Falls    on    the 

Merrimac. 

Sandwich Sandwich  to  Dover  Landing. 

Sunapee Sunapee  Pond  to  Hillsboro. 

Westmoreland      Walpole  to  Northfield,  Mass. 

1805  Piermont Orford  to  Piermont. 

Newport Newport  to  Keene. 

Monadnock Milford  to  Marlboro  Hills. 

Hancock Stoddard  to  Milford. 

1806  Pittsfield Barnstead  to  Pittsfield. 

1807  Rindge Northfield,  Mass.,  to  the  Branch  Turn- 

pike. 

1808  Litchfield Amherst  to  Methuen,  Mass. 

Winnepiseogee Gilmanton  to  Bridgewater. 

Sanbornton Pemigewasset  Bridge  to  Sanbornton. 

Northern  Haverhill Up  the  Ammonoosuc  Valley  to  the  Bath 

Turnpike. 
New  Chester  and  Danbury    .    .    .  Between  the  towns  named. 

1809  Pemigewasset  Middle  Branch    .    .  Thornton  to  Lancaster. 
Great   Sunapee Newport  to  Warner. 

18 1 2  Andover Salisbury  to  Andover. 

1815  Sunapee    (second) Fisherfield   (Newbury)   to  Wendell. 

1820  Pemigewasset Peeling  (Woodstock)   to  Franconia. 

Upper  Coos Franconia  to  Bethlehem. 

1828  Franconia Through  that  town. 

1837  Coos  in  New  Hampshire    ....  Dalton  to  Gorham. 

1838  Mount  Washington Northeast    end    of    the    Tenth     New 

Hampshire  Turnpike  to  Table  Rock. 

1839  Coventry Haverhill  to  Coventry  (repealed  1840). 

1852    White  Mountains  Plank  Road  .    .  Littleton  or  Whitefield  to  the  Notch. 


[248] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  VERMONT 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    VERMONT 

ALTHOUGH  a  few  colonists  had  established  themselves  at  Fort 
Dummer,  now  Brattleboro,  as  early  as  1724,  very  little  settle- 
L  ment  was  made  in  Vermont  until  about  1760.  Then  a  tide  of 
immigration  set  in,  and  between  that  year  and  1768  one  hundred  and 
thirty-eight  townships  were  granted  to  colonists  by  Governor  Benning 
Wentworth  of  New  Hampshire.  When  the  Revolutionary  War  was 
over  many  of  its  survivors  sought  homes  in  Vermont.  The  northern  part 
of  the  state  was  much  more  popular  than  the  southern,  but  access  to  that 
section  was  had  only  by  means  of  a  rough  military  road  which  had  been 
built  under  order  of  General  Washington  in  1778.  That  road,  known  as 
the  Bayley-Hazen  Military  Road,  extended  from  what  is  now  the  village 
of  Wells  River  in  the  town  of  Newbury,  on  the  Connecticut  River,  north- 
westerly to  a  notch  in  the  mountains  in  the  town  of  Westfield,  near  the 
Canada  line.  But  access  to  this  road  was  only  had  over  the  old  Cohos 
Road  in  New  Hampshire,  which  led  from  the  valley  of  the  Pemige- 
wasset  River  at  Plymouth,  up  the  valley  of  the  Baker's  River  and  to  the 
Connecticut  in  the  north  part  of  the  town  of  Haverhill,  opposite  Wells 
River,  where  the  village  of  Woodsville  is  now  found,  and  it  is  easily 
imagined  that  such  dependence  upon  the  older  state  was  distasteful  to  the 
Vermonters  whose  long  struggle  for  a  separate  government  had  so  lately 
been  successful. 

There  was  much  fertile  land  in  the  lower  valley  of  the  Connecticut 
and  back  from  its  banks,  and  facilities  were  needed  for  access  to  that 
region  as  well.  So  on  the  twenty-seventh  of  October,  1795,  a  resolve 
was  passed  by  the  Vermont  legislature  by  which  committees  were  ap- 
pointed in  the  counties  of  Windham,  Windsor,  and  Orange 

to  lay  out  a  public  highway  from  the  south  line  of  this  state  to  the  north  line  of  the 
town  of  Newbury. 

The  new  highway  was  directed  to  be  laid  "as  near  the  banks  of  the 
Connecticut  River  as  may  be  eligible  and  convenient,"  and  was  to  con- 
nect with  the  Bayley-Hazen  Road,  thus  forming  a  main  highway  running 
the  length  of  the  state. 

In  February,  1797,  similar  action  was  taken  looking  to  roads  between 
Rutland  and  Salem,  New  York;  Vergennes  and  Burlington;  Burlington 
and  the  province  line;  and  Salisbury  to  Onion  River  Bridge;  and  provi- 
sion was  made  for  additions  to  the  Connecticut  Post  Road  and  for  a  road 
to  Vergennes. 

But  the  turnpike  movement  had  been  launched  in  Vermont  three 

[249] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

months  before  this  last  act,  for  in  November,  1796,  the  First  Vermont 
Turnpike  Corporation  was  chartered  with  power  to  build  a  road 

from  the  east  line  of  said  Bennington  to  the  east  bank  of  the  Deerfield  river,  in  said 
Wilmington,  in  such  place  or  places  as  the  said  corporation  shall  choose  for  the 
same. 

It  seems  that  nothing  was  done  under  authority  of  this  act  of  incorpora- 
tion, for  three  years  later  the  Windham  Turnpike  Corporation  was 
created  and  granted  the  same  route  with  the  further  privilege  of  extend- 
ing to  Brattleboro.  But  since  the  first  charter  in  each  state  has  been 
found  to  be  a  pretty  accurate  forerunner  of  the  rest,  a  few  notes  will 
be  given  of  the  First  Vermont.  Although  the  regimental  system  was 
commenced,  as  we  see,  it  was  not  continued  and  the  First  Vermont  was 
the  only  one  to  be  designated  numerically. 

Upon  the  corporation  were  conferred  the  same  powers  as  were  pos- 
sessed by  the  selectmen  of  towns  to  take  lands,  lay  out,  and  build  a 
highway,  and,  when  its  road  was  approved  by  the  county  court  of  Wind- 
ham, gates  not  exceeding  two  might  be  erected  "  in  such  manner  as  shall 
be  necessary  and  convenient."  The  legislature  might  dissolve  the  corpo- 
ration when  its  income  had  repaid  the  investment  with  twelve  per  cent. 
Five  hundred  dollars  was  to  be  spent  within  two  years  and  the  whole 
project  completed  within  five.  The  usual  requirement  of  a  signboard 
appears,  upon  which  the  following  rates  of  toll  were  to  be  given : 

Coach,  Phaeton,  Chariot,  or  other  four-wheeled  vehicle,  drawn  by  two 

horses $0.75 

If  drawn  by  four  horses 1. 00 

If  drawn  by  more  than  four  for  each  additional  horse 06 

Cart,  Waggon,  Sled,  or  Sleigh  drawn  by  two  oxen  or  horses 50 

Each  additional  ox  or  horse 06 

Chaise,  Chair,  or  other  Carriage  drawn  by  one  horse .37 

Man  and  Horse 25 

Foot   passenger 04 

Horses,  oxen,  and  other  neat  cattle,  not  in  teams  each 06 

Sheep  and  swine,  each 01 

Certain  of  the  high  rates  contained  in  the  foregoing  schedule  suggest 
that  Vermont  had  cut  a  path  of  its  own  in  the  matter  of  levying  tolls, 
and  that  it  was  the  intention  to  prescribe  the  charges  for  the  whole  length 
of  the  road,  such  total  to  be  divided  by  the  number  of  gates  at  which 
toll  was  demanded.  Although  such  a  division  of  collections  was  not 
specified  in  the  act  of  incorporation  of  the  First  Vermont,  our  supposi- 
tion is  confirmed  by  the  charter  of  the  Green  Mountain  which  followed 
it.  In  that  a  table  of  toll  rates  is  given,  and  then  follows  a  paragraph 
which  unmistakably  sets  forth  that  such  tolls  are  to  be  collected  at  each 
gate  only  in  the  fraction  which  one  gate  bears  to  the  entire  number. 

The  preamble  to  the  act  creating  the  First  Vermont  is  an  exact  copy 
(except  for  the  towns  named)  of  that  found  in  the  act  of  incorporation 
of  the  First  Massachusetts. 
[250] 


Through  Ryegate,  Vt. 
North  from  Ryegate  Corner 
New  Free  Bridge  at  Wells  River 

Plate  LXVI  —  Bayley-Hazen  Military  Road 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF  VERMONT 

Those  passing  to  or  from  public  worship  were  exempt  from  paying 
toll,  as  was  anyone  engaged  in  common  labor  on  his  own  farm  or  in 
the  "  common  and  ordinary  business  of  family  concerns  within  the  same 
town."  A  penalty  of  from  one  to  ten  dollars  was  provided  for  need- 
lessly hindering  travelers  at  the  gates. 

As  in  the  other  states,  each  Vermont  corporation  was  created  by  a 
special  act  of  the  legislature,  and  very  few  general  laws  were  passed 
for  turnpike  government.  The  Revised  Statutes  of  Vermont,  published 
in  1839,  contained  eleven  sections  of  that  nature,  certain  of  which  en- 
acted in  1806  are  especially  interesting  as  providing  governmental  con- 
trol of  those  public  utilities,  and  being  an  early  anticipation  of  the 
modern  public-service  commissions. 

Each  county  court  was  required  annually,  in  December,  "  to  appoint 
three  judicious  freeholders  to  be  inspectors  of  turnpike-roads  in  such 
county."  Such  appointees  could  not  be  stockholders  in  any  turnpike 
corporation  nor  in  any  way  connected  with  one,  and  upon  being  installed 
into  office  were  required  to  make  oath  that  they  were  free  from  that 
taint. 

It  was  the  duty  of  the  inspectors,  upon  application  by  three  free- 
holders, to  inspect  any  turnpike  within  their  jurisdiction  of  which  com- 
plaint had  been  made.  They  were  empowered  to  order  repairs,  and 
to  enforce  their  orders  by  throwing  open  the  gates  for  free  passage  by 
the  public  until  such  repairs  were  made.  The  corporations,  however, 
were  allowed  the  right  of  appeal  to  the  court  in  cases  of  unreasonable 
orders. 

Anyone  who  obstructed  an  inspector  with  the  intention  to  prevent  his 
allowing  free  passage  by  the  public,  pending  the  ordered  repairs,  or 
anyone  who  shut  a  gate  after  an  inspector  had  ordered  it  to  be  left  open, 
was  liable  to  a  fine  of  two  hundred  dollars. 

If  an  inspector  after  his  appointment  became  a  stockholder  in  a  turn- 
pike corporation,  his  tenure  of  office  automatically  ceased. 

Costs  of  the  inspectors'  proceedings  were  assessed  on  the  party  at 
fault.  Accounts  were  rendered  and  it  was  the  duty  of  the  court  to  assess 
the  costs  and  order  their  payment  by  the  corporation  or  the  applicants, 
issuing  an  execution  at  the  end  of  thirty  days. 

The  inspectors  had  authority  to  examine  rates  of  toll,  and  could 
diminish  the  rate  at  any  gate,  if  they  raised  it  proportionally  at  another, 
giving  due  consideration  to  the  distances  between  such  gates. 

In  section  eleven  Vermont  appears  as  the  first  to  make  provisions, 
whereby  a  town  and  a  corporation  having  agreed  might  make  the  road 
free  without  a  special  act  of  the  legislature.  Therein  it  was  provided 
that  any  corporation,  "  in  its  discretion,"  might  sell  a  proportionate 
amount  of  its  stock  to  any  town  through  which  its  road  passed.  The 
town  thereupon  became  the  owner  and  operator  of  so  much  of  the  turn- 
pike as  lay  within  its  limits,  and  was  allowed  to  collect  tolls  thereon  until 
its  receipts  had  repaid  the  amount  paid  for  the  stock.     November  19, 

[251] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

1839,  a  further  act  was  passed,  giving  power  to  the  supreme  and  county 
courts  "  to  take  any  real  estate,  easement,  or  franchise  of  any  turnpike 
or  other  corporation  when,  in  their  judgment,  the  public  good  requires 
a  public  highway."  The  taking,  however,  was  to  cover  the  entire  fran- 
chise and  could  not  be  made  on  a  portion  of  a  road. 

An  old  law  which  had  been  repealed  in  1839  was  revived  in  1845, 
and  by  it  the  turnpike  inspectors  were  empowered,  upon  application,  to 
divide  any  turnpike  into  sections,  placing  a  value  on  each  division. 
Towns  or  individuals  might  then  buy  at  the  inspectors'  prices  one  or 
more  sections  of  the  turnpike  for  the  purpose  of  making  it  free.  Such 
purchasers  were  allowed  to  continue  the  collection  of  tolls  for  a  while 
under  specified  limitations. 

The  second  Vermont  act  of  incorporation  formed  the  Green  Moun- 
tain Turnpike  Corporation  on  March  10,  1797,  and  gave  it  the  right 
to  build  a  road  from  the  easterly  boundary  of  Clarendon  to  the  bridge 
over  Black  River  in  Ludlow.  Evidently  this  route  was  not  satisfactory 
to  the  promoters  and  they  allowed  their  first  charter  to  lapse,  obtaining 
from  the  legislature  on  November  2,  1799,  a  new  charter  with  a  fran- 
chise covering  a  longer  route.  But  meanwhile  another  proposition  had 
received  legislative  sanction,  and  under  the  charter  granted  for  that  was 
built  the  first  Vermont  turnpike. 


ELIJAH    PAINE'S   TURNPIKE 

That  charter  was  granted  on  October  28,  1799,  and  conferred  on 
"  Elijah  Paine,  his  heirs,  and  assigns,"  the  right  to  build  and  operate 
a  turnpike  road 

from  Experience  Fisk's,  in  Brookfield,  through  Williamstown,  Northfield,  and  Ber- 
lin, to  the  north  side  of  Onion  River. 

As  we  are  to  meet  frequent  references  to  this  Onion  River,  it  may 
be  well  to  mention  here  that  the  modern  Winooski  River  once  bore  that 
name. 

Although  the  first  two  corporations  were  granted  rates  of  toll  which 
were  to  be  divided  by  the  number  of  gates  erected,  that  method  was 
abandoned  without  being  put  to  actual  test,  neither  of  the  corporations 
carrying  out  its  plan.  Elijah  Paine  was  granted  the  right  to  collect  cer- 
tain tolls  at  each  of  the  three  gates  which  he  was  authorized  to  erect. 

The  layout  was  to  be  sixty  feet  wide  and  the  traveled  path  eighteen 
feet. 

In  granting  lands  to  new  settlers  from  the  public  domain  it  was  the 
early  custom  to  limit  the  acreage  allowed  to  one  person,  but  an  addi- 
tional area  was  generally  granted  sufficient  to  provide  for  the  land  re- 
quired in  the  building  of  future  roads.  October  15,  1801,  an  act  was 
passed  providing  that  Elijah  Paine  need  not  pay  any  damages  for  build- 
[252] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF  VERMONT 

ing  his  turnpike  through  unimproved  lands  where  such  allowance  had 
been  made.  A  change  in  the  location  of  the  gates  was  also  allowed  in 
this  act. 

The  construction  of  this  turnpike  was  hot  the  only  contribution  made 
by  Elijah  Paine  toward  the  development  of  the  state.  Born  in  Con- 
necticut, he  graduated  from  Harvard  in  178,1,  and  in  1784  began  the 
practice  of  law  in  Vermont,  making  his  home  in  the  edge  of  Williams- 
town  near  where  he  later  built  his  road.  He  entered  largely  into  agri- 
cultural enterprises,  and  while  Northfield  was  yet  a  wilderness  he  ex- 
pended forty  thousand  dollars  in  the  establishment  of  a  factory  in  that 
town  for  the  manufacture  of  American  cloth.  At  the  time  the  turnpike 
charter  was  granted  he  was  serving  his  adopted  state  as  United  States 
senator,  and  from  1801  to  his  death  in  1842,  he  was  judge  of  the  United 
States  court  for  the  District  of  Vermont.  The  turnpike  is  often  men- 
tioned as  "  Governor  Paine's  turnpike,"  probably  on  account  of  his 
being  succeeded  in  his  business  enterprises  by  his  son  Charles,  who  was 
governor  of  Vermont  from  1841  to  1843.  To  Governor  Paine  was 
largely  due  the  financing  which  allowed  the  construction  of  the  Central 
Vermont  Railroad,  which  must  reflect  credit  on  his  public  spirit,  as  his 
turnpike  was  thereby  destroyed. 

The  Paine  turnpike  ran  over  the  eastern  spurs  of  the  Green  Moun- 
tains almost  directly  north  for  about  twenty  miles,  and  terminated  on 
the  north  side  of  the  Onion  or  Winooski  River,  in  the  center  of 
Montpelier. 

THE   WINDHAM   TURNPIKE 

The  next  was  the  Windham  Turnpike  Company,  created  by  the  act 
of  November  1,  1799.  As  previously  stated  this  company  took  over  the 
route  which  the  First  Vermont  failed  to  improve  from  Bennington  to 
Wilmington,  with  the  addition  of  the  further  right  from  Wilmington  to 
Brattleboro.  Five  tollgates  were  allowed,  the  first  to  be  installed  when 
seven  miles  of  road  had  been  completed.  Ultimately  the  gates  were  to 
be  located:  one  near  the  east  line  of  Bennington;  one  in  Readsboro;  one 
near  the  Deerfield  River  in  Wilmington;  one  in  the  west  part  of  Marl- 
boro ;  and  one  in  the  west  part  of  Brattleboro.  At  the  two  eastern  gates 
less  toll  was  to  be  collected,  for  what  reason  is  not  apparent.  The  sec- 
tion of  road  in  Brattleboro  was  to  be  built  over  an  easier  country,  and 
it  may  have  been  considered  that  less  expenditure  was  entitled  to  less 
returns,  but  such  reasoning  could  not  have  been  applied  to  the  section 
to  be  built  in  Marlboro,  for  construction  in  that  part  involved  steep 
grades  and  heavy  work. 

The  turnpike  climbed  over  a  high  divide  in  Wilmington,  passing  a 
short  distance  south  of  Ray  Pond,  to  which  has  lately  been  given  the 
more  pretentious  name  of  Lake  Rayponda,  and  fell  steeply  into  Wil- 
mington Village.     There  it  passed  through  the  very  center,  being  the 

[253] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

road  on  which  Child's  Tavern  fronts.  The  old  Vermont  House  on  the 
opposite  side  of  the  street  from  Child's  could  doubtless  tell  many  a 
stage-coach  story.  West  of  Wilmington  the  old  turnpike  was  the  road 
now  regularly  traveled  to  Bennington,  passing  with  many  steep  grades 
and  circuitous  windings  through  Searsburg  and  Woodford  City. 

The  promoters  of  the  Windham  seem  to  have  been  able  to  secure 
what  the  Third  Massachusetts  tried  in  vain  to  get,  as  it  is  seen  in  their 
act  of  incorporation  that  the  various  towns  along  the  road  were  to  be 
obliged  to  keep  the  turnpike  clear  of  snow. 

The  original  charter  provided  that  the  corporation  might  build  as  far 
as  the  house  of  General  John  Steward  in  Brattleboro.  But  on  October 
27,  1800,  another  act  was  secured  by  which  the  location  of  the  road  was 
allowed  to  be  changed  and  the  easterly  terminus  fixed  in  Brattleboro, 
at  the  house  of  Rutherford  Hayes,  the  grandfather  of  the  nineteenth 
president  of  the  United  States. 

The  road  was  operated  for  about  twelve  years  with  an  incomplete 
list  of  rates  of  toll,  for  after  that  lapse  of  time  we  find  it  enacted  that 
a  "  waggon  drawn  by  one  horse  "  should  pay  a  toll  of  twelve  and  one 
half  cents.  In  1815  the  removal  of  the  eastern  gate  was  allowed,  but 
no  increased  rates  at  the  others  in  consequence.  October  26,  1821,  the 
corporation  was  allowed  to  give  up  all  of  its  road  east  of  Wilmington, 
and  in  1825  it  was  authorized  to  extend  its  road  and  change  its  gates 
wherever  it  saw  fit.  How  long  the  western  portion  was  operated  has  not 
been  learned,  but  it  apparently  had  been  abandoned  before  1828,  as 
another  company,  the  Searsburg,  was  chartered  then  to  reclaim  the  road. 

Over  this  turnpike  journeyed  the  father  of  President  Hayes  about 
1808  when,  having  received  his  "  freedom  suit"  and  attained  his  major- 
ity, he  sought  employment  as  a  merchant's  clerk  in  Wilmington,  where 
he  married  and  lived  a  few  years  before  making  his  home  in  Ohio  in 
1817. 

THE    GREEN    MOUNTAIN   TURNPIKE 

The  promoters  of  the  Green  Mountain  Turnpike  Company  returned 
with  a  more  attractive  proposition  and,  on  November  2,  1799,  were 
granted  a  new  charter  to  build 

from  the  east  line  of  Clarendon  to  the  post  road  on  Connecticut  River,  in  Rocking- 
ham. 

In  this  act  of  incorporation  a  bond  in  the  sum  of  one  thousand  dol- 
lars was  required  to  guarantee  that  the  incorporators  would  complete 
their  road  within  five  years.  Towns  were  allowed  to  subscribe  to  the 
capital  stock,  but  no  one  town  for  more  than  one  sixth  of  the  total. 

Under  this  franchise  and  the  eight  acts  subsequently  passed,  the  road 
was  built  from  Clarendon  to  Bellows  Falls  following  closely  along  the 
route  afterwards  taken  by  the  Rutland  Railroad.  Hayes'  "  History  of 
[254] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF  VERMONT 

Rockingham  "  tells  us  that  it  was  financed  by  the  same  interests  which 
built  the  canal  at  Bellows  Falls,  and  that  the  corporation  operated  the 
road  for  forty  years. 

It  appears  that  there  was  considerable  trouble  in  building  the  road, 
and  it  seems  doubtful  if  it  can  be  said  that  it  ever  was  finally  completed 
although  it  was  operated  for  its  entire  length  for  many  years.  The 
matter  of  land  damages  gave  much  concern  to  the  company  and  it 
secured  the  passage  of  an  act  in  1800,  providing  that  roads  near  the 
turnpike,  and  rendered  useless  by  its  construction,  should  be  discontinued 
by  the  selectmen,  and  the  consequent  reversion  of  the  land  to  the  origi- 
nal owners  should  be  considered  as  an  offset  for  land  taken  for  the  new 
road.  Evidently  their  further  efforts  toward  economical  purchases  of 
land  were  too  successful,  for  a  "  great  complaint  about  smallness  of 
damages"  resulted  in  the  passage  of  an  act  in  1802,  which  gave  the 
landowners  a  right  of  appeal.  In  18 17  the  road  was  still  under  con- 
struction, and  changes  in  the  route  for  over  a  quarter  of  its  length  were 
then  allowed.  Under  authority  granted  in  18 18  the  erection  of  a  gate 
in  Cavendish  or  Chester,  with  collection  of  half  rates  of  toll,  was  made 
conditional  upon  the  whole  road  being  completed  within  four  years  from 
that  date. 

The  road  plainly  was  unsatisfactory,  for  in  1822  permission  was 
secured  to  resurvey  and  alter  the  location  in  Mount  Holly  and  Shrews- 
bury, the  abandoned  portions  to  be  discontinued.  But  evidently  nothing 
was  done  in  consequence,  for  we  find  another  act,  passed  in  1828,  by 
which  they  might  resurvey  and  make  alterations  for  the  whole  length 
of  the  turnpike.  Again  they  appeared  before  the  legislature  in  1831 
and  secured  authority  to  make  alterations  on  all  of  their  road  within 
Windsor  County.  A  two  years'  limit  on  this  last  act  was  extended 
another  year  in  1832,  after  which  we  find  no  further  legislation.  So 
we  must  conclude  that  the  extensive  alterations  were  never  carried  out, 
much  as  they  were  desired.  Had  they  been  made,  much  more  legislation 
would  have  been  needed  to  provide  for  alteration  of  gates  and  disposi- 
tion of  the  discontinued  portions  of  the  old  turnpike. 

The  location  of  the  eastern  end  of  the  Green  Mountain  Turnpike  at 
Bellows  Falls  was  due  to  the  existence  of  a  bridge  over  the  Con- 
necticut River  there.  The  Bellows  Falls  Bridge  was  provided  for 
by  the  New  Hampshire  legislature  at  its  session  in  1783,  and  was  the 
first  bridge  built  over  the  Connecticut.  It  was  built  in  1785  by  Colonel 
Enoch  Hale,  and  its  construction  is  shown  in  the  illustration  photo- 
graphed from  an  old  painting  in  the  Bellows  Falls  office  of  the  local 
electric-light  company.  Considering  the  occasional  turbulence  of  the 
Connecticut  River  it  seems  doubtful  if  such  a  structure  could  have  lasted 
many  years,  but  the  present  bridge  is  the  next  one  of  which  we  have 
information,  and  that  was  erected  in  1840.  It  is  called  the  "Tucker 
Bridge,"  and  is  well  shown  in  the  illustration.  It  is  of  the  type  so 
familiar  to  travelers  in  northern  New  England,  the  Towne  lattice  truss, 

[255] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

said  to  have  been  built  by  the  mile  and  cut  off  in  lengths  to  suit.  Engi- 
neers will  be  interested  to  note  the  doubled  web  members  over  the  pier, 
which  can  plainly  be  seen  in  the  illustration.  An  interesting  feature  in 
all  the  old  bridges  is  the  manner  in  which  the  early  builders  provided  for 
the  strains,  and  here  we  see  how  the  strains  over  the  support  of  a  con- 
tinuous  beam  were  countered.  The  "  Tucker  Bridge  "  was  operated  as 
a  toll  bridge  until  recent  years  and,  since  no  legislative  act  authorizing 
its  erection  has  been  found  subsequent  to  that  of  1783,  we  must  conclude 
that  it  was  built  and  operated  under  the  charter  then  granted. 

The  charter  of  the  Green  Mountain  preceded  that  of  the  Third  New 
Hampshire  by  about  seven  weeks.  The  New  Hampshire  road,  as  we 
have  seen,  led  from  Bellows  Falls  through  Keene,  and  into  the  town  of 
Ashby,  Massachusetts,  on  the  way  to  Boston.  Thus  it  appears  that  the 
two  turnpikes,  with  the  Bellows  Falls  Bridge,  were  units  of  a  grand 
scheme  whereby  the  Lake  Champlain  country  was  to  have  an  easy  outlet 
for  its  produce,  and  an  inlet  for  its  supplies  to  and  from  Boston,  a  route 
in  active  operation  to-day  by  railroads. 


THE   WINDSOR   AND   WOODSTOCK   TURNPIKE 

November  5,  1799,  the  Windsor  and  Woodstock  Turnpike  Com- 
pany was  chartered  to  build 

from  the  east  parish  in  Windsor,  to  or  near  the  Woodstock  court  house. 

The  road  was  to  be  four  rods  wide  and  eighteen  feet  in  the  traveled 
portion.  Evidently  the  incorporators  expected  to  follow  the  old  Con- 
necticut post  road  for  a  portion  of  the  way,  for  we  find  it  enacted  that 
no  gate  should  be  erected  on  any  part  of  that  road.  This  company 
was  expressly  allowed  to  commute  tolls,  or  in  others  words,  to  keep  book 
accounts  with  regular  customers. 

The  East  Parish  in  Windsor  was  situated  on  the  bank  of  the  Con- 
necticut River  at  the  Vermont  end  of  the  Cornish  Bridge,  which  had 
been  erected  three  years  prior  to  the  incorporation  of  this  turnpike  com- 
pany. We  have  already  noted  that  a  heavy  traffic  in  sheep  and  cattle 
passed  over  Cornish  Bridge  in  its  early  years,  and  we  are  justified  in 
assuming  that  much  of  it  reached  the  bridge  by  means  of  this  turnpike. 

A  change  in  the  location  of  the  gates  was  allowed  by  an  act  passed 
in  1802,  and  on  October  26,  1820,  the  company  was  relieved  of  all 
obligation  to  maintain  the  road  east  of  Lull  Brook  in  Hartland. 


THE  WHITE   RIVER  TURNPIKE 

The  White  River  Turnpike  Company  received  its  franchise  on  the 
first  day  of  November,  1800,  and  built  a  road  between  twenty  and 
twenty-one  miles  in  length,  extending  from  what  is  now  White  River 

[256] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF  VERMONT 

Junction,  up  and  along  the  north  bank  of  the  White  River  through  the 
towns  of  Hartford,  Sharon,  and  Royalton  or,  as  the  charter  expressed  it, 

from  the  mouth  of  White  River  to  the  mouth  of  the  second  branch  of  said  river. 

Tucker's  "  History  of  Hartford"  and  Lovejoy's  "  History  of  Royal- 
ton  "  agree  that  the  turnpike  was  in  operation  for  fifty-two  years.  No 
bridges  had  to  be  maintained  within  the  limits  of  Royalton,  which  elimi- 
nated one  frequent  cause  of  friction  between  town  and  corporation,  and 
Lovejoy  testifies  to  the  continued  harmonious  relations  in  this  case. 

By  1852  the  earnings  had  decreased  so  far  that  the  owners  of  the 
road  offered  to  sell  to  the  three  towns  for  ten  dollars  each,  the  turnpike 
to  be  given  up  as  soon  as  one  town  had  paid  its  ten.  The  reason  is  not 
far  to  seek.  The  Vermont  Central  Railroad,  first  chartered  in  1835,  in 
January,  1850,  opened  its  line  from  Windsor  to  Burlington,  and  for 
twenty  miles  of  its  length  was  never  more  than  five  hundred  feet  away 
from  the  dust  of  the  turnpike. 


THE   CENTER   TURNPIKE 

The  Center  Turnpike  Company,  created  November  4,  1 80a,  was  to 
provide  turnpike  facilities  from  Middlebury  courthouse  to  Wood- 
stock, with  a  branch  turning  off  "  at  the  most  convenient  place,"  and 
leading  to  the  mouth  of  the  second  branch  of  the  White  River,  at  which 
point  it  would  join  the  westerly  end  of  the  White  River  Turnpike. 
Three  days  later  the  Royalton  and  Woodstock  was  incorporated  to 
build  from  Woodstock  to  Royalton,  which  it  is  easy  to  see  paved  the 
way  for  a  controversy.  In  October,  1801,  in  consequence  of  the  Center's 
proposing  to  "  fall  into  "  the  Royalton  and  Woodstock  location,  an  act 
was  passed  by  which  amicable  relations  were  secured  and  the  rights  of 
the  latter  company  protected.  It  is  difficult  to  determine  positively 
where  the  Center  did  build  its  road,  but  apparently  it  built  a  portion  of 
the  main  line  and  the  authorized  branch,  leaving  out  the  part  of  the  main 
location  which  would  have  taken  it  to  Woodstock.  As  it  was  built,  it 
formed  an  extension  of  the  White  River  Turnpike,  following  up  the 
river  of  that  name  to  the  headwaters  of  the  west  branch  thereof  in  the 
town  of  Ripton,  passing  thence  into  the  valley  of  the  Middlebury  River, 
which  it  followed  to  the  Middlebury  courthouse.  That  money  was 
not  easy  in  this  case  is  evident  from  an  extension  of  time  which  was 
granted,  running  to  1808. 

In  1 8 17  the  company  was  relieved  of  obligation  to  maintain  that  part 
of  its  road  which  lay  west  of  "  Joshua  Hyde's  road  in  Middlebury," 
and  in  181 8  was  released  from  its  responsibility  for  all  of  the  turnpike 
situated  in  Bethel  and  Royalton  north  of  the  White  River.  Nineteen 
years  later,  in  1837,  the  company  again  appeared  in  the  halls  of  legisla- 
tion and  secured  the  passage  of  an  act  by  which  it  was  relieved  of  all 
of  its  road  from  the  eastern  end  to  where  it  left  the  White  River,  that 

[257] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

part  of  the  road  being  made  a  public  highway.  A  new  rate  of  tolls  was 
granted,  to  be  collected  for  a  few  years  longer  on  the  remaining  portions 
of  the  turnpike.  That  must  have  been  a  very  few  miles  in  the  towns  of 
Ripton  and  Middlebury. 

A  very  little  at  the  eastern  end  of  this  turnpike  fell  within  the  terri- 
tory afterwards  occupied  by  the  Vermont  Central  Railroad,  but  the  toll 
road  gave  up  its  existence  some  years  before  railroad  competition  forced 
it  to  do  so.  A  farther  portion  of  the  location  later  formed  the  route  of 
the  White  River  Valley  Railroad. 


THE   ROYALTON   AND  WOODSTOCK  TURNPIKE 

As  already  stated  the  Royalton  and  Woodstock  Turnpike  Company 
was  incorporated  November  7,  1800,  to  build  "  from  Royalton  meeting- 
house to  Woodstock  court-house,"  and  its  road  was  built  in  spite  of  the 
effort  of  the  promoters  of  the  Center  to  improve  their  franchise,  granted 
three  days  earlier. 

Again  we  are  indebted  to  Lovejoy,  who  tells  us  that  the  turnpike 
promotion  was  opposed  by  the  inhabitants  of  the  towns  of  Pomfret  and 
Woodstock,  and  that  to  placate  them  much  latitude  was  used  in  defining 
their  domestic  concerns,  in  the  prosecution  of  which  they  were  allowed 
to  pass  free  over  the  road.  This  conciliation  was  continued  until  1838, 
when  David  Bosworth,  a  local  "  man  of  the  hour,"  was  appointed  toll 
gatherer  and  promptly  drew  the  lines  tighter.  A  merry  war  resulted, 
but  it  appears  that  the  company,  being  within  its  legal  rights,  prevailed. 

At  the  northerly  end  of  the  turnpike  the  company  maintained  a  bridge 
over  the  White  River,  which,  after  twenty-five  years'  service,  became 
unsafe.  Owing  to  insufficient  revenue  the  company  felt  unable  to  repair 
the  bridge  and  sought  to  abandon  it,  seeking  a  new  location  by  which 
it  could  use  a  bridge  owned  by  the  town.  The  usual  opposition  was 
encountered  and  as  usual  a  compromise  was  made.  The  town  of  Royal- 
ton voted  in  1830  that,  if  the  company  would  properly  maintain  its  road, 
the  town  would  contribute  twenty-five  dollars  annually  toward  the  re- 
pairs of  the  bridge. 

May  1,  1842,  the  road  became  free  by  action  of  the  court  under 
authority  of  the  act  of  1839. 


THE    CONNECTICUT   RIVER   TURNPIKE 

John  Holbrook,  Samuel  Dickenson,  and  Lemuel  Whiting  were 
granted  March  10,  1797,  the  exclusive  right  for  eight  years  to  run  a 
stage  from  Brattleboro  "on  the  post  road  to  Dartmouth  College,"  be- 
cause, as  the  act  recited,  "  the  said  John,  Samuel,  and  Lemuel  have,  at 
great  expense  and  considerable  loss,  established  a  line  of  stages  on  said 
route."  By  this  it  appears  that  the  post  road  contemplated  in  the  act 
[258] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF  VERMONT 

of  1795  had  been  constructed  as  far,  at  least,  as  Norwich,  which  lies  on 
the  Vermont  shore  of  the  Connecticut  and  opposite  Hanover,  the  home 
town  of  Dartmouth  College.  Now  comes  evidence  that  the  road  had 
been  poorly  built,  or  if  not  so,  that  it  was  too  heavy  a  burden  for  the 
towns  to  maintain,  for  we  have  a  franchise  granted  to  the  Connecticut 
River  Turnpike  Company  November  7,  1800,  to  cover  the  same  ter- 
ritory as  the  post  road,  between  Bellows  Falls  and  the  south  line  of 
Thetford,  and  probably  occupying  the  post  road  itself.  One  would 
expect  to  find  the  afore-mentioned  John,  Samuel,  and  Lemuel  interested 
in  this  turnpike  over  which  their  stages  were  to  run  for  the  remaining 
five  years  of  their  exclusive  privilege,  but  apparently  their  "  great  ex- 
pense and  considerable  loss  "  continued  to  follow  them,  for  their  names 
do  not  appear  among  the  incorporators  of  the  Connecticut  River. 

This  charter  specified  the  number  of  gates  which  the  corporation 
might  erect  and  prescribed  the  toll  to  be  collected  at  each,  but  introduced 
a  feature  which  is  only  found  in  Massachusetts  by  permission  of  a 
special  act  of  the  legislature.  The  corporation  was  allowed  to  erect  as 
many  additional  gates  as  it  deemed  best,  but  to  collect  only  fractional 
tolls  at  such  extra  barriers. 

November  9,  18 14,  the  corporation  was  relieved  of  all  its  road 
south  of  the  road  leading  to  Cheshire  Bridge,  but  Hayes'  "  History  of 
Rockingham  "  is  our  authority  for  saying  that  the  rest  of  the  turnpike 
continued  to  be  so  operated  until  about  1840. 


THE    HUBBARDTON   TURNPIKE 

The  trend  of  transportation  in  western  Vermont  to-day  is  southerly 
and  westerly  toward  New  York  City,  as  evidenced  by  the  records  of 
the  Rutland  Railroad.  While  many  of  the  early  turnpikes  seem  to  have 
catered  to  travel  transversely  with  the  Green  Mountain  range  the  Hub- 
bardton  Turnpike  Company,  chartered  November  11,  1802,  shows  that 
at  that  date  the  drift  toward  New  York  had  set  in.  That  corporation 
desired  to  build  a  road  from 

Sudbury  to  the  road  leading  from  Rutland  to  Fairhaven,  in  the  most  suitable  direc- 
tion for  Salem,  New  York. 

The  only  portion  of  this  route  which  is  to-day  occupied  by  any  sort 
of  a  railroad  is  the  section  between  Bomoseen  and  Castleton,  which  is 
served  by  a  short  branch  of  the  Rutland  street-railway  system,  but  the 
farther  portion  of  the  journey  which  was  made  to  Salem,  New  York, 
followed  directly  along  the  line  later  occupied  by  one  of  the  divisions  of 
the  Delaware  and  Hudson.  Doubtless  a  New  York  corporation  fur- 
nished a  road  on  the  other  side  of  the  state  line  with  which  this  road 
connected  by  means  of  the  Poultney  Turnpike,  chartered  in  1805,  but 
it  seems  worthy  of  notice  that  this  company,  desiring  to  improve  travel 

[259] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF   NEW    ENGLAND 

between  Sudbury  and  Salem,  asked  for  a  franchise  covering  only  about 
a  quarter  of  the  distance. 

In  1808  the  company  petitioned  the  legislature,  stating  that  the  tolls 
which  it  was  obliged  to  collect  had  a  tendency  to  lessen  travel,  and  ask- 
ing permission  to  reduce  its  rates.  The  act  passed  in  consequence 
allowed  such  reductions,  but  provided  that  not  over  half  was  to  be  taken 
off.  Imagine,  if  you  can,  the  necessity  of  restricting  the  reduction  of 
fares  by  a  modern  railroad. 

Little  has  been  found  concerning  the  Hubbardton  Turnpike,  but 
enough  to  show  that  it  continued  in  business  until  November,  1851,  when 
its  charter  was  repealed. 


THE   WILLIAMSTOWN   CENTER   TURNPIKE 

November  14,  1803,  the  act  incorporating  the  Williamstown  Center 
Turnpike  Company  was  passed,  providing  for  a  road  from 

Experience  Fisk's  in  Brookfield,  northerly  up  the  side  of  the  branch  of  White  River, 
through  the  notch  of  the  mountains,  to  the  road  leading  from  Williamstown  to 
Chelsea. 

Twenty-five  years  after  the  completion  of  the  road  it  was  to  become  free 
and  the  property  of  the  state,  but  the  more  liberal  legislature  of  1804 
granted  another  fifteen  years  of  corporate  life. 

Nothing  was  done  for  two  years,  and  the  date  set  in  the  original  act 
for  the  first  meeting,  at  which  organization  was  to  be  effected,  passed 
without  that  formality.  But  hope  still  lived  and  permission  to  hold  the 
meeting  on  another  day  was  secured  in  1805. 

This  turnpike  seems  to  have  been  known  as  "  Ira  Day's  turnpike," 
and  followed  the  "  Gulf  Route,"  according  to  Child's  Gazetteer  of 
Washington  County.  There  are  fanciful  tales  of  the  Boston  and  Mon- 
treal stages  passing  this  way  carrying  the  British  Royal  mail,  guarded 
by  a  soldier  of  King  George,  but  the  course  of  the  turnpike  did  not  lend 
itself  to  direct  stage  travel  in  that  direction,  and  the  presence  of  a  for- 
eign soldier  seems  open  to  much  doubt. 

It  is  said  that  Cottrill  and  Day's  stages  followed  this  route. 


THE   NORTHERN    TURNPIKE 

An  imposing  array  of  names  opened  the  act  by  which  the  Northern 
Turnpike  Company  of  Vermont  was  incorporated  February  6,  1804. 
Eighty-three  individuals  were  therein  constituted  a  corporation  for  the 
purpose  of  building  a  turnpike 

from  Lake  Champlain  to  Connecticut  River,  through  the  counties  of  Franklin,  Or- 
leans, and  Caledonia,  and  also  a  part  of  Essex,  if  judged  best  ...  in  the  most  con- 
venient direction  for  Portland,  Maine. 
[260] 


First  Bridge  over  the  Connecticut  River,  1785 
Tucker  Toll  Bridge  and  Railroad  Bridge 

Plate  LXVII  —  Bellows  Falls  Bridge 


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THE  TURNPIKES   OF  VERMONT 

It  will  be  recalled  that  attention  was  directed,  while  considering  the 
Tenth  New  Hampshire  and  the  Littleton  turnpikes,  to  the  comprehen- 
sive scheme  whereby  Portland,  Maine,  was  to  be  put  in  easy  communi- 
cation with  Northern  Vermont.  Here  we  have  the  Vermont  section  of 
that  scheme.  The  Northern  of  Vermont  was  to  commence  at  the  toll 
bridge  at  Upper  Waterford  and  run  across  the  state  to  some  point, 
which  we  are  unable  to  locate  at  this  remote  date,  on  the  shores  of  Lake 
Champlain.  Some  difference  of  opinion  was  found  among  the  old  resi- 
dents of  Waterford  as  to  whether  the  easterly  terminus  was  to  be  at 
the  bridge  at  Upper  Waterford  or  at  the  one  at  Lower  Waterford.  The 
route  of  the  turnpike  was  to  include  St.  Johnsbury,  and  the  present-day 
stage  from  that  town  to  Upper  Waterford  finds  its  easiest  route  brings 
it  to  the  Connecticut  River  some  miles  downstream  from  the  site  of  the 
lower  bridge.  But  turnpikes  did  not  look  for  easy  routes,  while  they  did 
look  for  any  influence  which  would  lessen  their  land  damages,  and  the 
presence  of  the  name  of  Nathan  Pike  among  the  incorporators  of  the 
Northern  strengthens  the  belief  that  the  proposed  route  led  to  the  upper 
bridge.  Nathan  Pike  was  the  owner  of  a  large  farm  running  back  from 
the  Connecticut,  on  the  Vermont  side,  and  it  was  on  to  his  land  that 
travelers  across  the  First  Littleton  toll  bridge  at  Upper  Waterford  first 
stepped,  and  over  his  farm  led  the  road  by  which  the  public  highway 
was  reached  from  the  bridge.  This  Pike  leased  to  the  bridge  company 
an  acre  of  land  for  toll-house  purposes,  the  consideration  being  that  he 
and  his  heirs,  with  their  families,  should  forever  pass  free  of  toll  over 
the  bridge.  Ere  a  century  had  passed  a  multitude  of  Pikes,  settled  from 
Vermont  to  Louisiana  with  a  liberal  proportion  living  near  the  bridge, 
seemed  to  fall  within  the  privileges  of  this  rental.  As  the  toll-house  lot 
was  owned  by  only  two  of  the  descendants,  there  seemed  to  be  no  way 
by  which  the  extensive  free  list  could  be  reduced  until  the  company  se- 
cured the  passage  of  an  act  under  which,  in  1899,  they  took  the  toll- 
house lot  by  condemnation  proceedings  and  thereby  became  owners 
instead  of  lessees. 

Further  confirmation  of  the  belief  of  a  terminus  at  Upper  Waterford 
is  found  in  the  fact  that  such  a  point  is  more  nearly  in  a  direct  line  with 
the  general  route,  and  that  a  detour  by  way  of  Lower  Waterford  would 
have  required  a  similar  return  in  order  to  reach  the  territory  of  the 
Littleton  Turnpike. 

But  whichever  bridge  was  aimed  at  by  the  turnpike,  the  road  was 
never  built  east  of  St.  Johnsbury,  and  the  heavy  traffic  which  followed 
the  route  for  many  years  divided  itself  about  equally  between  the  two 
bridges,  as  is  evidenced  by  the  substantial  taverns  now  standing  in  each 
village.  We  have  already  given  some  attention  to  the  bridge  at  Upper 
Waterford,  that  of  the  First  Littleton  Bridge  Corporation,  and  noted 
that  it  still  serves  its  purpose.  The  bridge  lower  down  was  built  by  the 
Second  Littleton  Bridge  Corporation  under  authority  of  a  charter 
granted  by  New  Hampshire  in  1820,  and  served  the  public  until  about 

[261] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

1890,  when  its  westerly  span  went  downstream  on  the  crest  of  a  jam 
of  logs.  The  lumber  company  promptly  bought  up  a  majority  of  the 
stock  and  then  decided  not  to  rebuild.  The  easterly  span  remained  in 
place  for  a  few  years  longer  and  then  followed  its  mate. 

The  promoters  of  the  Northern  may  have  given  too  much  considera- 
tion to  getting  landowners  among  their  incorporators  and  not  enough 
to  men  of  financial  influence,  for  they  seem  to  have  had  lots  of  trouble 
with  their  project.  Apparently  nothing  at  all  was  done  for  nearly  two 
years,  for  we  find  the  legislature  speaking  to  them  October  26,  1805, 
and  providing  a  forfeiture  of  their  rights  unless  the  survey  of  the  road 
was  completed  within  nine  months,  ten  miles  built  within  two  years,  and 
twelve  miles  annually  thereafter  until  the  whole  was  done.  In  1807  this 
was  modified  by  an  extension  of  one  year,  and  a  committee  was  appointed 
to  make  the  layout.  In  1809  a  further  extension  was  granted,  and  they 
were  promised  a  gate  when  ten  miles  of  road  was  finished.  In  1 8 1 1  it 
appears  that  seven  miles  of  turnpike  had  been  built  reaching  from  Dan- 
ville courthouse  to  St.  Johnsbury  Plain,  and  a  special  act  allowed  the 
erection  of  a  gate  in  such  section. 

No  more  road  was  built  by  this  corporation,  a  further  extension  of 
time  granted  in  18 14  being  insufficient  for  it,  and  the  rights  of  the  com- 
pany expired.  But  that  seven  miles  of  road  still  remained,  and  in  1815 
a  new  corporation,  the  Danville,  was  formed  to  take  over  and  operate 
what  little  the  Northern  had  succeeded  in  completing. 

Although  not  strictly  a  turnpike  tavern,  the  old  house  still  standing 
in  Upper  Waterford  Village  is  of  interest  in  this  connection,  as  it  stood 
on  the  route  of  the  Northern  and  furnished  accommodations  to  those 
who  had  journeyed  over  what  road  the  company  did  own.  This  old 
house,  long  kept  by  the  Streeter  family  and  still  occupied  by  a  grand- 
daughter of  the  former  innkeeper,  is  of  great  interest  for  its  old  associa- 
tions with  stage-coach  travel  and  for  its  rare  stock  of  old-fashioned 
furnishings.  To  the  present  occupant  the  author  is  indebted  for  per- 
mission to  enter  and  secure  a  photograph  of  the  old  bar,  which  is  here 
reproduced.  The  memories  of  many  a  mug  of  flip  are  set  aside  in  the 
presence  of  the  modern  stove  and  lamp,  and  the  public  library,  which  is 
Waterford's  share  of  that  part  of  the  Vermont  educational  system. 

The  tavern  in  Lower  Waterford  is  a  more  imposing  edifice,  and  from 
its  larger  proportions  gives  the  impression  that  it  must  have  profited 
from  a  larger  circle  of  trade.  Undoubtedly  it  did,  for  many  of  the 
teams  crossing  at  the  upper  bridge  followed  down  the  river  for  the  sake 
of  the  easier  road  leading  to  St.  Johnsbury  from  the  lower  village. 

THE   WEATHERSFIELD   TURNPIKE 

Another  product  of  the  sixth  of  February,  1804,  was  the  Weathers- 
field  Turnpike  Company.    Among  the  incorporators  of  this  company  we 
find  the  appropriate  name  of  Henry  Tolls. 
[262] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF  VERMONT 

The  Weathersfield  built  from  "  Sumner's  Ferry  over  Connecticut 
River,  at  the  mouth  of  Sugar  River,"  to  a  point  in  Cavendish  on  the 
Green  Mountain  Turnpike.  The  act  of  incorporation  provided  a  com- 
mittee of  three  to  lay  out  the  road  so  as  to  "  best  accommodate  the 
public,  and  promote  the  general  object  and  design  of  the  corporation," 
which  certainly  was  a  happy  form  of  defining  the  duty  of  the  committee. 

Apparently  the  legislature  of  1805  was  afraid  that  its  predecessor 
had  been  too  liberal  with  the  Weathersfield,  for  we  find  an  act  passed 
in  the  latter  year  which  gave  a  privilege  of  reducing  the  tolls  to  the 
future  solons  of  1840. 

The  company  was  dissolved  by  the  legislature,  at  its  own  request, 
November  9,  1831. 

THE   RUTLAND  AND   STOCKBRIDGE  TURNPIKE 

November  9,  1804,  the  Rutland  and  Stockbridge  Turnpike  Com- 
pany was  formed  and  granted  a  franchise  for  fifty  years.  The  road  of 
this  company  was  to  lead  from  the  main  road,  which  ran  north  and 
south  by  the  Rutland  courthouse  to  the  house  of  Zebidee  Sprout  in 
Pittsfield,  and  a  committee  was  appointed  by  the  original  act  to  lay  it 
out.  But  construction  did  not  immediately  follow,  for  in  1805  the  com- 
pany was  required  to  complete  three  miles  within  two  years,  and  a  time 
limit  of  six  years  was  placed  on  the  whole  route.  That  had  the  desired 
effect  for  the  road  was  promptly  commenced,  and  in  one  year  more  a 
franchise  for  an  extension  to  connect  with  the  Center  Turnpike  in  Stock- 
bridge  was  sought  and  secured.  The  company  was  the  subject  of  legis- 
lative action  again  in  18 13,  1828,  and  1833,  the  last  two  acts  allowing 
it  to  make  alterations  in  its  location. 


TURNPIKE    PROPOSED    FOR   TRAVEL   BETWEEN    BOSTON 

AND    MONTREAL 

The  most  far-reaching  name  we  have  yet  seen  is  that  of  the  Boston 
and  Montreal  Turnpike  Company,  chartered  November  5,  1805,  to 
build 

from  the  Connecticut  River,  in  Orange  County,  through  Hazen's  notch,  to  the 
north  line  of  Vermont,  in  the  most  direct  and  convenient  course  from  Boston  to 
Montreal. 

The  route  over  which  this  company  sought  to  build  is  full  of  historic 
interest,  but  the  full  tale  of  tragedy  and  human  suffering  will  never  be 
known.  Prior  to  the  invasion  by  the  white  men  the  Indians  had  a  trail 
leading  over  the  same  territory,  and  many  an  unfortunate  captive,  taken 
by  the  dusky  allies  of  the  French  in  a  raid  on  the  lower  Connecticut 
River  settlements,  had  been  dragged  over  this  trail  with  agonized  un- 
certainty concerning  his  fate.     But  only  a  trail  existed  down  to  the 

[263] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

Revolutionary  War,  and  only  by  those  skilled  in  woodcraft  and  ac- 
quainted with  the  country  could  it  be  followed. 

When  Arnold  was  detached  from  the  Continental  Army  at  Cam- 
bridge for  the  purpose  of  invading  Canada,  but  two  routes  seemed  avail- 
able, and  his  forces  proceeded  northward  in  two  detachments,  one  going 
up  the  Kennebec  River  and  through  the  wilds  of  Maine,  while  the  other 
proceeded  along  the  shore  of  Lake  Champlain.  After  the  disastrous 
repulse  at  Quebec  it  became  necessary  to  send  reinforcements  northward 
in  short  time  to  save  the  remnant  of  the  retreating  army,  and  General 
Jacob  Bayley,  residing  at  Newbury,  employed  Indian  Joe,  a  famous 
scout,  to  blaze  the  old  trail  so  that  it  could  readily  be  traced.  Over 
such  a  primitive  path  several  regiments  rushed  to  Arnold's  relief  on 
snow  shoes. 

In  June,  1776,  General  Bayley,  with  sixty  men,  commenced  the  con- 
struction of  a  road  from  the  mouth  of  Wells  River  toward  Canada. 
Some  thirty  miles  of  the  route  had  been  covered  when  a  false  alarm  of 
a  British  invasion  from  the  north  caused  a  hasty  abandonment  of  the 
undertaking,  which  was  not  resumed  until  two  years  later.  In  1778 
another  invasion  of  Canada  was  contemplated  and  General  Washington 
addressed  a  letter  to  General  Bayley,  requesting  him  to  secure  the 
answers  to  several  questions  bearing  on  the  matter,  and  concluding  with 
the  following  paragraph : 

If  you  find  a  favorable  report,  from  credible  people,  on  the  matters  herein  men- 
tioned, your  situation  being  so  distant  from  hence,  you  may  in  the  month  of  Novem- 
ber next  employ  a  part  of  Colonel  Bedell's  regiment,  should  it  be  continued,  or  a 
small  number  of  good  men,  in  cutting  a  road  from  your  house  into  Canada,  which 
you  with  others  have  reported  to  me  to  be  practicable.  Your  reasonable  expenses  in 
this  service  will  be  allowed.1 

Wells  states,  in  his  "  History  of  Ryegate,"  that  the  route  was  sur- 
veyed by  Major  James  Wilkinson,  who  laid  out  the  road  as  straight  as 
possible  from  Wells  River  through  Peacham  Corner,  the  southwest  part 
of  Danville,  Cabot,  Walden,  and  Hardwick  to  the  Lamoille  River; 
thence  passing  westerly  of  Hosmer  Pond  to  the  summit  of  the  Notch  in 
Westfield.  The  road  was  built  under  the  direction  of  Colonel  Moses 
Hazen,  an  officer  of  note  in  the  Continental  Army,  and  the  name  of 
Hazen  Military  Road  has  generally  been  applied  to  it.  The  northerly 
terminus  was  in  the  Notch  already  mentioned,  which  thereafter  bore  the 
name  of  Hazen's  Notch,  and  the  point  at  which  the  road  ended  is  now 
marked  by  a  granite  monument  with  a  suitably  inscribed  tablet.  In  the 
village  of  Wells  River,  at  the  upper  end  of  the  main  street,  at  the  farther 
corner  of  the  bridge,  another  monument  marks  the  southerly  end  of 
the  old  military  road,  the  tablet  there  properly  recognizing  General 
Bayley's  efforts  in  its  promotion  by  bestowing  the  name  of  "  Bayley- 
Hazen"  upon  it. 

1  Spark's  "  Life  of  Washington,"  Volume  VI,  page  57. 
[264] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   VERMONT 

Much  contention  has  existed  as  to  the  objects  of  the  road,  but  a  study 
of  Washington's  letters  clearly  shows  that  he  was  considering  the  in- 
vasion of  Canada  in  1778,  not,  as  he  plainly  wrote,  at  that  time,  but  for 
a  later  period  when  events  had  properly  shaped  themselves.  Although 
never  used  for  hostile  purposes  by  the  Americans,  and  although  occa- 
sionally serving  as  a  convenient  route  for  small  raiding  parties  from 
Canada,  the  military  road  certainly  served  an  excellent  purpose  in  forc- 
ing the  British  commander  to  maintain  troops  in  Canada  to  meet  the 
invasion  which  could  so  easily  and  quickly  be  made. 

After  peace  had  been  declared  and  the  soldiers,  with  others,  were 
looking  for  new  homes,  the  Bayley-Hazen  road  offered  the  only  means 
of  transportation  to  northern  Vermont,  and  it  soon  became  an  avenue 
of  great  importance.  For  a  long  time  it  was  the  only  main  road  in 
Lamoille  and  Orleans  counties,  but  from  it  many  others  soon  branched 
off,  and  the  early  settlements  were  along  its  line.  The  Connecticut  post 
road,  which  was  ordered  by  the  Vermont  legislature  of  1795,  was  to 
follow  up  the  Connecticut  River  to  the  north  line  of  Newbury,  which 
brought  it  to  Wells  River  and  the  end  of  the  Bayley-Hazen  road,  thus 
providing  a  single  road  the  length  of  the  state. 

Most  of  the  military  road  is  still  in  use,  but  the  location  of  the 
original  line  would  be  lost  among  the  many  other  roads  which  now  cover 
the  region,  were  it  not  for  the  survey  made  for  the  Boston  and  Montreal 
Turnpike.  The  map  of  the  route  then  proposed,  which  is  still  preserved 
in  Montpelier,  shows  the  old  road  for  its  entire  length,  the  turnpike 
surveyors  seldom  being  an  appreciable  distance  away  from  it. 

According  to  Wells  the  turnpike  project  was  thoroughly  investigated 
and  several  interesting  reports  about  the  route,  the  resources  of  northern 
Vermont  and  part  of  Canada,  are  among  the  Johnson  papers  gathered 
in  Newbury.  The  prospects  for  the  turnpike  seemed  excellent,  as  it 
was  supported  by  prominent  business  men  all  the  way  from  Boston  to 
Montreal,  but  no  work  was  ever  done.  Twice  the  charter  rights  ex- 
pired by  limitation  and  twice  were  acts  passed  reviving  them.  Finally, 
in  1 815,  authority  was  granted  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  company,  but 
nothing  further  appears  and  that  must  have  been  the  last  gasp. 

The  first  regular  stage  between  Boston  and  Montreal  was  established 
over  this  route,  but  it  was  not  a  turnpike  over  which  the  coaches  passed. 

A  toll  bridge  across  the  Connecticut  between  Wells  River  and  that 
part  of  Haverhill,  now  the  railroad  village  of  Woodsville,  was  allowed 
by  the  New  Hampshire  legislature  in  1803,  and  that  bridge  was 
the  means  by  which  the  promoters  of  the  Boston  and  Montreal  ex- 
pected to  transfer  their  passengers  into  New  Hampshire.  The  Wells 
River  Bridge  continued  in  business  until  late  in  19 17,  but  the  old- 
fashioned  covered  bridge  had  given  place  to  a  product  from  Pennsyl- 
vania, a  steel  truss.  Previous  to  1903  all  the  corporation  stock  had  been 
acquired  by  the  Concord  and  Montreal  Railroad,  and  the  sanction  of  the 
legislature  of  that  year  having  been  obtained,  railroad  and  toll  bridge 

[265] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

were  combined  in  one  structure.  On  the  upper  deck  the  railroad  trains 
passed  and  repassed,  while  below  the  automobile  and  horse-drawn  travel 
passed  with  the  foot  passengers. 

Previous  to  such  construction  the  railroad  company  offered  to  relin- 
quish all  its  rights  to  maintain  a  toll  bridge  if  the  towns  would  provide 
a  free  bridge,  asking  nothing  in  return,  but  the  towns  were  unable  to  see 
the  advantage  of  the  offer.  A  different  view  was  taken  in  19 17,  when 
an  agreement  was  made  by  which  the  Boston  and  Maine  Railroad  was 
paid  $7500  for  the  surrender  of  its  rights. 

The  new  bridge  is  a  steel  truss  of  four  spans  supported  on  concrete 
piers  and  abutments  and  cost  $49,500,  making,  with  the  amount  paid 
the  railroad,  $57,000.  Toward  this  each  state  appropriated  $8000, 
leaving  the  balance  to  be  borne  by  the  towns  of  Newbury,  Vermont,  and 
Haverhill,  New  Hampshire. 

With  its  old-time  resentment  of  any  invasion  of  its  precincts  the 
Connecticut  River,  when  it  saw  the  first  pier  being  erected  away  from 
the  shore  line,  rose  in  its  wrath  and  washed  out  the  contractor's  plant, 
including  a  hoisting  engine  which  it  dumped  into  the  river. 

As  a  part  of  the  route  in  which  the  Boston  and  Montreal  Turnpike 
was  to  form  a  link,  the  Coos,  Mayhew,  and  Londonderry  turnpikes  in 
New  Hampshire  would  have  figured,  and  in  Massachusetts  the  journey 
to  Boston  would  have  been  continued  over  the  Essex,  Andover  and 
Medford,  and  the  Medford  turnpikes. 

November  7,  1805,  was  turnpike  day  in  Montpelier,  for  on  that 
day  fourteen  turnpike  companies  were  incorporated,  eight  of  them  being 
combined  in  one  act. 


THE    MOUNT   TABER   TURNPIKE 

The  Mount  Taber  Turnpike  Company  constructed  a  road  from  a 
stone  bridge  on  the  East,  or  Creek  Road  in  Danby,  eleven  miles  through 
a  part  of  Mount  Tabor  and  Dorset,  and  ending  in  the  easterly  part  of 
Manchester.  This  road  continued  in  operation  for  over  twenty  years. 
In  181 5  certain  exemptions  from  toll  were  established,  and  on  Novem- 
ber 15,  1826,  the  corporation  was  allowed  to  surrender  all  of  its  road 
"  south  of  Deming's  saw-mill  in  Dorset,"  and  the  northerly  end  in 
Danby. 

The  Dorset  and  the  Pawlet  Turnpike  companies,  conceived  for  com- 
munication between  adjoining  towns,  have  yielded  no  information  be- 
yond their  incorporation,  and  it  is  doubtful  if  either  improved  any  part 
of  its  franchise. 


[266] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  VERMONT 


THE   WALTHAM   TURNPIKE 

The  Waltham  Turnpike  Company  built  and  operated  its  road  from 
the  end  of  the  Center  Turnpike  in  Middlebury  to  the  courthouse  in 
Vergennes.  As  in  nearly  all  cases  we  see  indications  of  difficulties  in 
financing,  and  it  was  over  three  years  before  the  road  was  completed. 
Major  General  Samuel  Strong  of  Vergennes,  an  extensive  landowner 
in  that  vicinity,  was  one  of  the  incorporators  of  the  company,  and  later 
acquired  most  of  the  stock  according  to  Swift's  "  History  of 
Middlebury." 

In  1808  the  company  sought  permission  to  change  its  location  so 
that  it  might  pass  over  a  new  bridge  which  had  been  erected  by  the  public 
authorities,  thereby  saving  the  expense  of  building  one  of  its  own.  This 
was  granted  with  the  proviso  that  the  company  should  return  to  its 
original  location  and  build  its  own  bridge  thereon  within  twelve  years. 
Alterations  of  the  road  were  made  in  18 16. 

In  1 82 1  all  of  the  road  in  Middlebury,  except  half  of  a  bridge,  and 
one  mile  in  Weybridge  adjacent  to  Middlebury,  was  surrendered  to  the 
public,  and  on  October  30,  1828,  the  whole  road  was  declared  free,  three 
acres  of  land  with  a  tollhouse  on  it  being  all  that  was  left  to  the 
corporation. 

In  the  younger  days  of  the  generation  which  is  now  passing,  this  road 
was  known  as  "  The  Old  Plank  Road,"  from  which  it  appears  that 
that  form  of  construction  was  used  in  its  later  years,  but  since  plank 
roads  were  of  a  much  later  date  than  1828,  it  seems  beyond  question 
that  the  planking  was  done  by  the  public  authorities. 


THE    FAIRHAVEN   TURNPIKE 

The  Fairhaven  Turnpike  Company  had  a  road  twenty-two  miles  in 
length  and  extending  from  the  southerly  line  of  Fairhaven,  northerly 
through  Fairhaven,  Westhaven,  Benson,  Orwell,  and  Shoreham  to  the 
southerly  line  of  Bridport,  with  a  few  miles  additional,  allowed  to  it 
by  an  act  of  1808,  which  carried  the  road  to  the  main  road  in  Bridport. 
This  road  was  aimed  at  the  city  of  Vergennes,  and  apparently  connected, 
at  its  southerly  end,  with  a  New  York  turnpike  over  which  travelers 
could  reach  the  lower  Hudson  River  places. 

In  1833  the  charter  was  repealed,  subject  to  the  company's  accept- 
ance, and  the  road  was  made  free  with  the  several  towns  responsible 
for  their  respective  portions,  although  the  selectmen  were  allowed  to 
discontinue  the  road  if  they  deemed  best. 


[267] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF   NEW    ENGLAND 


THE   WINOOSKI   TURNPIKE 

The  Winooski  Turnpike  Company  had  a  project  for  about  thirty-six 
miles  of  turnpike,  extending  from  Burlington  courthouse  up  the  valley 
of  the  Onion  River  to  Montpelier,  where  it  connected  with  the  northerly 
end  of  Elijah  Paine's  turnpike.  Two  years  later  it  appeared  that  the 
company  had  purchased  the  Onion  River  Bridge,  a  proceeding  not 
specified  in  the  charter,  for  which  the  legislature  took  speedy  action, 
forbidding  the  company  to  collect  any  tolls  thereon. 

That  the  financial  bed  of  the  Winooski  was  no  easier  than  that  of 
many  others  is  seen  from  the  company's  seeking  in  1809,  four  years 
after  incorporation,  an  extension  of  its  time  limit,  and  later  in  the  same 
session,  obtaining  permission  to  erect  a  gate  when  eleven  of  its  thirty-six 
miles  had  been  completed.  In  181 1  the  route  was  amended  so  as  to 
begin  at  the  college  in  Burlington,  instead  of  at  the  courthouse;  and  in 
1 8 14  alterations  in  its  main  road  were  allowed.  By  this  time  the  road 
appears  to  have  been  completed,  but  an  extraordinary  situation  then 
developed. 

From  an  act  of  1815  we  learn  that  the  company's  bills  had  not  been 
paid,  not  even  the  damages  for  land  taken,  and  the  legislature  ordered 
the  committee  to  give  hearings  at  once  and  make  awards  of  damages, 
and  if  the  company  did  not  pay  such  awards  within  sixty  days  the  gate 
between  Montpelier  and  Waterbury  was  to  be  removed. 

In  1 85 1  the  surrender  of  the  portion  of  the  road  in  Montpelier  to 
that  town  was  allowed  if  the  town  voted  to  accept.  Apparently  the  town 
did  not  accept,  for  a  final  act,  passed  November  23,  1852,  authorized 
the  surrender  of  the  whole  road,  regardless  of  the  acceptance  by  the 
several  towns,  and  made  the  turnpike  free. 

The  Winooski  was  often  called  the  Chittendon  Turnpike  on  account 
of  the  connection  with  its  affairs  had  by  Governor  Chittendon. 


THE    POULTNEY   TURNPIKE 

The  Poultney  Turnpike  Company  was  the  one  already  mentioned  as 
building  a  road  extending  from  the  southerly  end  of  the  Hubbardton 
Turnpike  to  the  line  of  New  York,  but  the  building  was  a  slow  process. 
Five  years  after  the  date  of  the  franchise  an  extension  of  time  was 
granted,  which  was  again  extended  in  18 13.  Exemptions  from  toll  were 
specified  by  an  act  of  18 16,  from  which  we  may  infer  that  the  road  had 
been  completed,  and  that  the  public  had  a  tangible  gate  to  kick  at.  The 
charter  was  repealed  in  1834  and  the  responsibility  for  the  road  placed 
on  the  towns. 

For  a  little  short  turnpike  the  Poultney  made  lots  of  trouble,  seven 
acts  of  the  legislature  being  passed  in  relation  to  it. 
[268] 


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THE  TURNPIKES   OF  VERMONT 

The  last  of  the  eight  companies  formed  by  the  single  act  of  Novem- 
ber 7,  1805,  was  the  Bennington  Turnpike  Company,  which  was  to  build 
from  the  Massachusetts  line  in  Pownal  to  Bennington  courthouse. 
The  company  has  not  again  been  found  in  legislation  or  in  local  history, 
and  it  is  a  question  if  the  road  was  ever  built. 

Six  more  companies  were  formed  on  that  same  day  but  these  were 
given  the  distinction  of  individual  acts. 


THE    PASSUMPSIC   TURNPIKE 

The  Passumpsic  Turnpike  Company  was  allowed  to  build 

from  near  the  mouth  of  Wells  River  in  Newbury,  through  Ryegate,  to  the  house  of 
Deacon  Twaddle  in  Barnet,  to  be  laid  as  near  the  Connecticut  River  as  may  be 
convenient. 

Under  authority  of  this  franchise,  after  several  years,  the  company 
built  its  road  not  only  to  the  house  of  Deacon  Twaddle  but  nearly  twice 
as  far,  reaching  to  St.  Johnsbury.  This  was  an  active  proposition,  when 
it  had  survived  the  difficulties  which  beset  all  such  enterprises  at  that 
time.  The  first  step  was  a  false  one,  for  the  meeting  for  organization 
was  not  held  on  the  date  specified  in  the  charter,  and  the  legislature  of 
1806  was  called  upon  to  legalize  the  proceedings  of  the  belated  gather- 
ing. For  eleven  years  the  money  struggle  went  on,  five  acts  being  passed 
in  that  time  to  assist  the  corporation's  efforts.  Extensions  of  time  were 
granted,  privileges  of  gates  conferred  if  they  could  only  get  a  few  miles 
built,  and,  in  18 13  and  1816,  permission  was  obtained  to  levy  a  tax  on 
the  stockholders  for  the  purpose  of  raising  money  to  pay  the  company's 
debts. 

Wells  tells  us  in  his  "  History  of  Ryegate"  that  about  a  mile  was 
built  in  Barnet  in  1807,  and  that,  in  1808,  the  road  was  finished  to  the 
line  between  Barnet  and  Ryegate.  After  that  the  turnpike  was  extended 
a  few  miles  at  a  time,  until  it  reached  Wells  River  Village,  where  it 
terminated  at  the  upper  end  of  the  main  street.  It  seems  that  the  later 
money  troubles,  to  meet  which  the  right  to  lay  a  tax  on  the  shares  was 
granted,  occurred  in  connection  with  the  extension  to  St.  Johnsbury  for 
which  no  franchise  has  been  found,  and  it  is  strange  that  no  one  seems 
to  have  observed  that  the  company  was  seeking  money  privileges  for  an 
illegal  purpose.  When  we  recall  how  strictly  the  turnpike  companies 
were  held  to  the  purposes  of  their  charters,  as  in  the  case  of  the 
Winooski,  when  it  had  bought  the  Onion  River  Bridge,  and  of  many 
others,  it  is  indeed  remarkable  that  such  an  over-reaching  of  its  privi- 
leges should  have  been  overlooked.  In  1830  a  legislative  resolution 
instructed  the  "  state's  attorney  "  to  investigate  the  right  by  which  this 
turnpike  was  being  maintained  in  Newbury,  Ryegate,  Barnet,  Water- 
ford,  and  St.  Johnsbury,  and  prosecute  for  any  illegality,  but  no  serious 
results  followed. 

[269] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

Twenty-six  thousand  dollars  is  said  to  have  been  the  first  cost  of  the 
turnpike,  with  another  seven  thousand  spent  later  for  alterations  cover- 
ing seven  miles.  If  these  figures  are  authentic,  the  road  being  about 
twenty  miles  long,  we  have  a  figure  of  thirteen  hundred  dollars  per  mile 
for  first  cost,  with  a  thousand  dollars  per  mile  for  later  alterations. 
These  prices  seem  reasonable  for  a  dirt  road  built  under  considerable 
difficulties.  In  many  places  it  follows  along  the  face  of  high  hills,  so 
steep  as  to  require  heavy  grading,  and  often  rock  was  encountered.  A 
huge  wooden  plow  was  used  in  breaking  up  the  soil  preliminary  to  dig- 
ging, which  may  still  be  seen  preserved  in  the  Fairbanks  Museum  of 
Natural  Science  in  St.  Johnsbury. 

The  tollgate  on  the  lower  section  was  first  located  on  the  Beattie 
Farm  in  the  northerly  part  of  Ryegate,  later  at  a  point  a  little  below  the 
Stevens  Village  toll  bridge,  and  again  in  the  upper  end  of  Mclndoe 
Village.  At  the  latter  place  the  gate  was  attended  by  James  Monteith, 
who  occupied  his  leisure  between  the  passing  of  teams  by  knitting 
stockings. 

The  road  seems  to  have  aroused  much  hostility  soon  after  1820  and 
frequent  efforts  occurred  to  get  it  out  of  private  control.  In  1824  peti- 
tion was  entered  with  the  supreme  court,  in  consequence  of  which  a 
committee  was  appointed  to  lay  out  a  public  road  parallel  to  the  turn- 
pike, but  the  effort  was  too  great  for  the  towns  involved,  and  the  legis- 
lature of  1826  was  sought  for  relief,  which  was  granted  by  setting  aside 
the  court's  decree.  The  general  law,  under  which  towns  were  allowed 
to  buy  turnpike  stock  for  the  purpose  of  making  the  road  free  within 
their  limits,  seems  to  have  had  its  inception  with  this  road,  for  we  find 
the  town  of  Ryegate  authorized  by  the  legislature  of  1828  to  buy  Pas- 
sumpsic  stock  for  such  a  purpose. 

The  town  of  Barnet  tried  another  method  of  attack  and  built  a  mile 
of  road  adjoining  the  turnpike,  but  as  soon  as  the  road  was  finished  the 
corporation  took  possession  of  it  and  incorporated  it  into  its  turnpike 
system.  The  town  entered  suit  to  retain  its  road,  but  after  several 
appeals  a  final  decision  was  handed  down  in  favor  of  the  company.  It 
is  to  be  regretted  that  more  details  of  that  case  are  not  available,  for 
from  the  facts  at  hand  it  is  hard  to  see  the  justice  of  the  outcome. 
Efforts  in  1839  resulted  more  successfully,  for  then  a  committee  was 
appointed  for  the  purpose  of  laying  out  a  public  road  which  should 
parallel  the  turnpike  and,  therefore,  put  it  out  of  business.  This,  of 
course,  was  resisted  by  the  corporation,  and  more  litigation  ensued,  but 
this  time  resulting  adversely  to  the  company,  which  was  obliged  to  give 
up  its  road  and  accept  the  award  of  four  thousand  dollars  which  was 
given  it.  This  form  of  persuasion  consisted  in  giving  authority  to  build 
a  parallel  road  if  the  corporation  refused  to  sell  at  what  the  authorities 
considered  a  reasonable  figure. 

A  beautiful  ride  may  be  had  to-day  over  the  old  Passumpsic  Turnpike, 
yielding  inspiring  views  of  the  upper  Connecticut  valley  scenery.  After 
[270] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF  VERMONT 

leaving  Wells  River  one  must  first  pass  through  the  winds  and  twists 
which  have  been  put  into  the  old  alignment  by  the  later  railroad  con- 
struction, but  soon  comes  out  into  view  of  the  river,  which  is  seldom  out 
of  sight  for  the  next  several  miles.  After  passing  the  busy  paper  mill 
at  East  Ryegate,  a  splendid  view  is  had,  from  far  down  the  river,  of  the 
Lyman  toll  bridge  at  Mclndoe  Falls.  This  quaint  old  structure,  a 
covered  wooden  bridge  built  in  1834,  makes  a  rare  picture,  framed  on 
either  side  by  the  steep  wooded  banks  of  the  river  with  a  widened  ex- 
panse of  water  for  a  foreground.  Passing  through  the  village  of 
Mclndoe  Falls,  one  may  see  on  the  right  the  boarding  house  of  the 
Connecticut  Valley  Lumber  Company,  formerly  a  turnpike  tavern,  but 
now,  with  the  large  ell  added  by  the  company,  capable  of  housing  many 
more  people  than  of  old.  The  Stevens  Village  toll  bridge,  a  compara- 
tively recent  erection,  built  under  a  charter  granted  in  1846,  is  seen  on 
the  right  after  passing  over  the  next  two  miles  of  road,  and  then,  after 
passing  over  a  slight  hill,  the  village  of  Barnet  is  seen.  Originally  the 
turnpike  followed  close  to  the  river  bank  above  Barnet,  about  on  the 
line  now  followed  by  the  railroad,  but  damage  from  high  water  caused 
its  removal  to  a  location  high  up  on  the  hill  before  the  railroad  claimed 
its  superior  right  to  the  location  on  the  bank.  Above  Barnet,  then,  the 
old  turnpike  climbed,  where  now  rises  the  public  road,  over  the  emi- 
nence most  appropriately  called  "  The  Mountain  "  by  the  local  trav- 
elers, and  when  it  has  returned  to  earth  again  it  is  in  the  valley  of  the 
Passumpsic  and  not  in  that  of  the  Connecticut. 

Passing  through  the  little  village  of  East  Barnet,  also  known  as 
Copenhagen,  and  as  Inwood  on  the  railroad  time-tables,  a  hamlet  famed 
for  its  production  of  croquet  sets,  the  turnpike  continues  up  the  valley 
of  the  Passumpsic  River,  through  the  village  of  Passumpsic,  and  on  to 
St.  Johnsbury. 

The  territory  served  by  this  turnpike  was  occupied  by  the  descend- 
ants of  the  thrifty  Scotch  settlers,  for  whom  the  county,  Caledonia,  was 
named,  and  they  soon  perceived  that  if  the  road  was  a  good  investment 
for  the  corporation  it  would  be  equally  good  for  the  general  public,  and 
they  chafed  under  the  imposition  of  tolls.  Hence  the  corporation  went 
out  of  business  when  the  community  became  able  to  maintain  free  roads. 
That  the  road  was  a  paying  one  is  evident  from  the  resistance  offered 
to  the  efforts  to  make  it  free,  the  company  even  testing,  in  the  courts,  the 
constitutionality  of  the  act  by  which  it  was  terminated.  The  Connecticut 
and  Passumpsic  Rivers  Railroad  was  built  in  this  section  soon  after 
1850,  so  that  did  not  hasten  the  end  of  the  turnpike. 

THE    RANDOLPH    TURNPIKE 

The  Randolph  Turnpike  Company's  road  extended  from  the  wes- 
terly end  of  the  White  River  Turnpike  in  Royalton  ten  miles  up  the 
Second  Branch  of  the  White  River  into  the  town  of  Randolph.     Daniel 

[271] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   NEW   ENGLAND 

Payne  was  the  surveyor  and  he  laid  out  the  turnpike  in  the  old  road 
with  one  exception.  Across  the  land  of  John  Kimball  he  made  a  new 
location,  and  to  the  said  John  fell  the  distinction  of  being  the  only 
property  owner  in  the  length  of  ten  miles,  to  whom  was  allowed  any 
damages.  To  him  it  was  allowed  that  he  should  receive  sixty  dollars, 
but  if  the  section  of  old  road  thus  cut  out  was  discontinued,  the  land 
reverting  to  him,  he  was  to  receive  only  thirty-five  dollars.1 

November  6,  1833,  the  corporation  was  dissolved,  and  on  the 
eighteenth  of  the  same  month  the  corporation  voted  to  accept  the  terms 
imposed  by  the  legislature  and  stepped  out. 

Of  the  other  four  incorporated  on  that  seventh  of  November  we 
have  gathered  practically  nothing,  and  there  seems  little  reason  for 
believing  that  any  of  them  built  a  road. 

The  Woodstock  and  Rutland  Turnpike  Company  appears  but  once 
in  the  legislative  annals,  when  it  was  formed  to  build 

from  Finna  Hawkins  in  Bridgewater,  up  the  Water-Quechee  river,  through  Bridge- 
water  and  Sherburne,  to  die  turnpike  from  Rutland  to  Pittsfield. 

We  shall  later  find  a  turnpike  built  over  this  route  by  the  Sherburne 
Turnpike  Company,  which  was  incorporated  some  twenty-one  years 
afterwards. 

The  Mad  River  Turnpike  Company  was  to  build  from  the  Center 
Turnpike  in  Hancock,  through  Kingston,  Warren,  Waitsfield,  and 
Moretown  to  the  Onion  River. 

As  such  a  route  would  have  measured  about  thirty  miles,  which 
would  have  made  this  road  one  of  the  notable  ones  of  the  state,  it  seems 
incredible  that  it  could  have  been  constructed  without  bothering  the 
legislature  again  after  the  act  of  incorporation  was  passed.  No  other 
act  has  been  found  in  relation  to  this  company. 

The  Mississiquoi  Turnpike  Company  was  to  build  from  the  Canada 
line  in  Highgate  to  the  south  bank  of  the  Mississiquoi  River,  on  a  line 
for  the  courthouse  in  St.  Albans. 

Ten  years  afterwards  this  company  secured  an  extension  of  four 
years  on  its  time  limit,  and  if  they  could  not  begin  in  ten  years  it  is 
doubtful  if  they  ever  did. 

The  Sandbar  Turnpike  Company  obtained  a  franchise  for  a  road 
to  lead  from  the  lower  bridge  over  the  Onion  River  in  Colchester,  by 
the  Sandbar,  to  the  ferry  from  Middle  Hero  to  Cumberland  Head. 

That  this  project  needed  careful  nourishing  is  seen  by  the  act  of 
November  4,  1 806,  which  decreed  that  no  person  living  within  five  miles 
of  the  gate  which  was  to  be  erected  on  the  Sandbar  should  be  exempt 

1  Lovejoy's  "  History  of  Royalton." 
[272] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF  VERMONT 

from  paying  toll.  The  high  rate  of  four  cents  for  a  foot  passenger  was 
also  allowed  to  this  company,  and  a  further  concession  was  made  that 
the  supreme  court  could  not  dissolve  the  corporation  until  the  original 
investment,  plus  twelve-per-cent  interest,  had  been  paid. 

But  with  all  that  temptation  for  the  investor,  the  turnpike  did  not 
materialize  and,  in  1808,  an  extension  of  time  was  secured  which  was 
renewed  in  181 1.  Finding  nothing  more,  we  will  assume,  until  further 
evidence  be  forthcoming,  that  the  franchise  rights  expired  at  the  end 
of  this  last  extension. 

October  26,  1807,  after  a  lapse  of  nearly  two  years,  the  formation 
of  turnpike  corporations  was  resumed,  and  on  that  day  the  Manchester 
Turnpike  Company  was  chartered.  This  company's  road  was  to  con- 
nect the  Green  Mountain  Turnpike  in  Chester  with  the  courthouse 
in  Manchester,  and  Hayes  speaks  of  it  in  his  "  History  of  Rocking- 
ham "  as  later  becoming  the  most  popular  stage  route  from  Boston  to 
Saratoga  Springs.  But  we  must  doubt  Hayes'  accuracy  in  this  instance, 
for  the  route  of  this  turnpike  is  the  same  as  that  later  improved  by  the 
Peru  Turnpike  Company,  and  there  are  no  indications  that  any  other 
road  was  ever  built.  Hence  we  will  class  the  Manchester  among  the 
"  never-has-beens." 

THE   VERGENNES   AND   WILLSBORO   TURNPIKE 

On  the  fourth  of  November,  1808,  a  charter  was  issued  to  Major 
General  Samuel  Strong  and  others,  residents  of  Vergennes  and  Ferris- 
burg,  for  the  construction  of  a  turnpike  from  the  north  end  of  the 
Waltham  Turnpike,  jn  Vergennes,  to  Hiern's  Ferry,  on  Lake  Cham- 
plain,  in  Ferrisburg.  Major  General  Strong  was  a  prominent  and  in- 
fluential man  in  his  community,  and  much  of  the  land  through  which  the 
building  of  the  turnpike  was  contemplated  belonged  to  him. 

Financing  the  road  was  a  slow  proposition,  as  is  evidenced  by  the 
fact  that  acts,  extending  the  limits  within  which  the  road  might  be  com- 
pleted, were  passed  in  18 10,  18 12,  and  again  in  18 16.  Local  tradition 
tells  that  the  turnpike  was  finally  completed  in  1820. 

This  is  the  road  which  now  extends  from  the  center  of  Vergennes 
about  due  west  across  the  town  of  Panton,  close  to  its  northerly  boun- 
dary, to  the  shore  of  Lake  Champlain  at  Adams  Ferry,  which  is  the 
modern  name  for  Hiern's. 

Although  originally  projected  through  the  town  of  Ferrisburg,  no 
part  of  the  road  to-day  is  within  that  town,  the  section  traversed  by  the 
turnpike  having  been  transferred  to  Panton  in  1847.  Willsboro  is  a 
New  York  town  bordering  on  Lake  Champlain,  but  to-day  it  is  far  to 
the  north  of  any  service  from  Adams  Ferry.  An  old  map,  however, 
shows  us  that  Willsboro  in  the  day  of  the  turnpike  was  a  much  larger 
town  and  included  the  land  opposite  Ferrisburg. 

[273] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


THE   STRAFFORD   TURNPIKE 

The  Strafford  Turnpike  Company  was  granted  the  right  on  Novem- 
ber ii,  1808,  to  build  from  the  Connecticut  River  Turnpike  in  Nor- 
wich, diagonally  across  the  town  of  Strafford,  to  the  courthouse  in 
Chelsea.  In  18 13  the  company  made  petition  to  the  legislature  for  an 
extension  of  the  time  within  which  it  should  finish  the  road,  stating  in 
explanation  that  it  had  nearly  finished  the  turnpike,  but  that  heavy 
rains  had  done  so  much  damage  that  completion  within  the  required 
time  would  be  impossible. 

November  4,  1826,  the  corporation  was  allowed  to  surrender  its 
charter  and  the  road  became  free. 

THE    STRATTON   TURNPIKE 

The  Stratton  Turnpike  Company,  created  by  the  act  of  November 
10,  1808,  at  first  proposed  to  build  from  the  Stratton  meeting-house  to 
the  foot  of  the  Green  Mountain  in  Sunderland,  but  later,  in  1815,  se- 
cured an  extension  of  its  rights  by  which  it  was  allowed  to  build  east- 
wardly  through  Wardsboro  to  Newfane  at  a  point  on  the  road  from 
Brattleboro  to  Townshend,  with  an  extension  of  the  time  limit  on  the 
original  portion.  By  this  it  can  be  seen  that  the  first  proposition  did  not 
look  attractive  enough  to  those  from  whom  the  money  was  expected. 
Nor  did  the  whole  proposition  for  that  matter,  for  we  find  extensions 
of  time  granted  again  in  1820  and  in  1826.  But  the  road  was  finally 
built,  as  can  be  attested  by  anyone  familiar  with  the  neglected  and  aban- 
doned region  through  which  it  passed.  For  the  entire  town  of  Stratton, 
with  large  parts  of  the  adjoining  towns,  is  given  up  to  the  growth  of 
timber,  all  the  farms  being  sold  and  deserted  and  the  region  devoid  of 
human  presence. 

One  sunny  September  morning,  one  hundred  and  five  years  after 
the  incorporation  of  the  Stratton  Turnpike  Company,  the  author  found 
himself  one  of  a  jolly  party  whose  automobile  trip  brought  them  to  this 
old  road  at  the  snug  little  village  of  West  Wardsboro,  from  which 
place  the  turnpike  was  followed  to  its  former  western  terminus. 

The  first  four  miles  was  a  stiff  climb  to  the  site  of  Stratton  Village, 
with  occasional  glimpses  of  Stratton  Mountain,  3860  feet  high,  and 
shaped  like  the  back  of  a  gigantic  elephant,  plowing  its  way  toward  the 
Massachusetts  line.  After  leaving  the  outskirts  of  West  Wardsboro, 
not  a  sign  of  human  life  was  seen  for  the  next  twelve  miles,  although 
the  roadside  was  marked  at  irregular  intervals  by  former  happy  homes 
and  secure  shelters,  now  marred  with  gaping  rents  in  the  walls  and  fall- 
ing roofs.  Three  entire  villages  are  included  in  the  list  of  desolation,  — 
Stratton,  with  its  white-spired  church;  Grout's  Mills,  abandoned  like 
the  farms  to  let  the  timber  grow;  and  West  Jamaica,  whose  twenty 
houses  and  sawmill  did  not  show  even  a  cat  to  give  life  to  the  scene. 

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THE   TURNPIKES   OF  VERMONT 

Stratton  Village  yielded  the  two  illustrations  which  are  typical  of  the 
roadside  adornments  for  mile  after  mile. 

Three  miles  beyond  Stratton  we  passed  a  guideboard  which  let  us 
know  that  the  trail  up  Stratton  Mountain  began  there.  Since  our  Sep- 
tember ride  a  tower  has  been  erected  on  the  summit  by  the  Stratton 
Mountain  Club,  in  conjunction  with  the  Vermont  Forestry  Bureau,  and 
a  most  inspiring  view  is  to  be  had  from  the  added  elevation  above  the 
tree  tops,  giving  sights  into  the  three  adjoining  states.  Near  here  was 
also  passed  the  field  in  which  Daniel  Webster  is  said  to  have  delivered 
an  address  before  an  audience  so  large  that  one  wonders  where  all  could 
have  come  from.  But  the  country  has  not  always  been  so  forsaken  by 
man,  and  but  a  few  years  ago  the  little  church  at  Stratton  weekly  housed 
a  goodly  sized  congregation,  and  an  attendance  of  a  hundred  at  the 
social  gatherings  was  not  uncommon. 

By  noon  we  had  covered  twelve  miles  of  the  old  turnpike  and  had 
reached  "  Kelley  Stand,"  one  of  the  old-time  taverns,  still  doing  some 
kind  of  hotel  business  in  the  midst  of  the  desolation,  which  yielded  us  a 
dinner  excellent  beyond  all  our  expectations.  It  seemed  that  "  Kelley 
Stand  "  possessed  some  little  reputation  for  its  unique  lonesomeness, 
which  brought  a  profitable  number  of  summer  boarders  from  even  as 
far  away  as  New  York  City,  and  now  that  the  frosty  fall  mornings  had 
come,  another  class  had  arrived  to  keep  the  business  alive.  For  the 
woods  for  miles  around  were  alive  with  a  busy  throng  who  sought  far 
and  wide  for  the  ferns  which  grew  so  abundantly,  picking  them  in  great 
armfuls,  and  carrying  them  to  the  roadside  to  be  packed  and  shipped  to 
the  cities  for  the  florists  to  use  in  decorating  their  boxes  of  flowers. 
To  these  workers  the  deserted  houses  and  barns  are  a  boon  and,  for 
a  few  weeks  in  each  fall,  they  camp  in  such  as  have  sufficient  roof  re- 
maining to  shed  the  rain.  A  large  force  were  camped  in  some  houses 
near  "  Kelley  Stand,"  and  the  call  for  dinner  brought  them  from  all 
directions  like  hailstones  in  a  summer  storm. 

Beyond  Grout's  Mills  a  long  hill  led  up  through  the  woods,  and  here, 
in  the  winter  of  1821,  occurred  a  most  mournful  tragedy,  which  was 
read  in  verse  in  many  a  school  reader  fifty  years  ago.  A  family  of 
three,  father,  mother,  and  baby,  encountered  one  of  the  severe  winter 
storms  and  the  two  elders  perished,  but  the  baby  was  found  the  next 
morning,  wrapped  in  its  mother's  shawl,  and  still  alive. 

Although  the  scenes  along  the  old  road  are  rather  depressing  with 
the  striking  suggestions  of  the  rupture  of  old  home  associations,  it  is 
pleasant  to  think  of  the  bustle  of  old-time  stage  travel,  for  this  road 
pointed  straight  to  Saratoga  Springs,  and  the  larger  part  of  the  fashion- 
able visitors  from  Boston  must  have  journeyed  to  the  springs  over  the 
Stratton  Turnpike. 

November  17,  18 13,  the  Middlebury  Turnpike  Corporation  was 
created  to  build  a  road  from  the  northerly  end  of  the  Hubbardton  Turn- 

[275] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

pike  to  Middlebury.  It  would  seem  that  there  was  an  urgent  demand 
for  a  good  road  along  these  lines,  for  it  would  have  opened  the  way 
from  Middlebury  to  the  lower  Hudson  towns  and  New  York  City.  By 
its  connection  with  the  Hubbardton,  and  over  that,  with  the  Poultney 
and  the  turnpikes  of  eastern  New  York,  it  would  have  seemed  a  promis- 
ing proposition.  But  either  our  inferences  are  wrong  or  else  the  exist- 
ing roads  were  good  enough,  for  the  promoters  never  mustered  enough 
courage  to  build  the  road.  A  two  years'  extension  was  granted  in  1814, 
after  which  the  company  does  not  appear. 

Mathews'  "  History  of  Cornwall  "  tells  us  that  the  route  was  sur- 
veyed and  that  a  proposition  was  made  to  that  town  by  which  the  in- 
habitants were  to  pass  free  of  toll,  in  consideration  of  one  half  the 
highway  tax  of  those  living  along  the  route  being  worked  out  upon  the 
turnpike.  The  offer  was  accepted  at  a  town  meeting  in  March,  1815, 
but  the  corporation  failed  to  construct  the  road. 

THE    PERU   TURNPIKE 

The  opening  of  the  year  19 16  saw  but  few  turnpikes  in  operation  in 
New  England.  A  few  were  still  doing  business  in  New  Hampshire  but 
they  were  all  of  the  summer-tourist  variety,  being  those  constructed  up 
the  sides  of  the  high  mountains  for  which  that  state  is  famed.  The  last 
one  in  New  England  of  what  might  be  called  the  commercial  variety  and, 
with  the  possible  exception  of  the  Plum  Island  in  Massachusetts,  the 
only  one  which  ever  collected  tolls  from  automobiles,  dates  from  No- 
vember-9,  1 8 14,  when  the  Peru  Turnpike  Company  was  chartered  and 
allowed  to  build  its  road  from  the  (i  Lovel  farm  in  Peru  to  the  court- 
house in  Manchester." 

Chartered  late  in  1814,  the;  road  was  commenced  early  in  181 5  and 
completed  the  next  year,  it  is  told  in  the  "  History  of  Peru,"  by  Batch- 
elder.  This  company  must  have  had  a  peculiar  brand  of  trouble  over 
its  land  damages,  for  an  act  entitled  "  An  Act  for  the  relief  of  the  Peru 
Turnpike  Corporation"  was  passed  in  1816,  making  the  judges  of  the 
county  court  the  committee  on  damages,  with  no  appeal  from  their  find- 
ings. Evidently  the  company  could  not  secure  anyone  willing  to  act  as 
such  committee,  or  having  done  so,  the  selections  failed  to  act. 

This  must  have  been  the  road  mentioned  in  the  "  History  of  Rock- 
ingham," as  connecting  the  Green  Mountain  Turnpike  in  Chester  with 
Manchester  courthouse,  in  which  case  we  must  note  that  authority  as 
stating  that  this  route  became  the  most  popular  between  Boston  and 
Saratoga  Springs.  But  it  was  a  roundabout  way  to  follow  between  those 
places,  and  it  seems  much  more  probable  that  such  travel  would  have 
taken  the  Windham  or  the  Stratton  turnpikes,  either  of  which  lay  in  a 
much  more  direct  line.  But  if  not  in  line  for  Boston,  the  Peru  Turnpike 
lay  in  the  easiest  pass  through  the  Green  Mountain  range,  and  Boston 
tourists  may  have  gone  that  way  for!  more  comfortable  riding. 
[276] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF  VERMONT 

Batchelder  further  tells  us  that  the  road  was  built  by  General  Peter 
Dudley,  who  also  took  care  of  it  for  twenty  years;  and  that  much  team- 
ing of  merchandise  and  pleasure  traveling  was  done  over  it  until  about 
1850,  when  railroad  competition  reduced  the  amount  seriously. 

When  the  "  Ideal  Tour,"  from  New  York,  through  the  Berkshires 
of  Massachusetts  to  the  White  Mountains  of  New  Hampshire,  was  laid 
out  by  the  Automobile  Association,  the  Peru  Turnpike  was  found  to  be 
the  most  available  and  easy  road  by  which  the  Green  Mountains  could 
be  pierced  and  it  was  incorporated  into  the  route.  But  the  delay  at  the 
gate,  and  the  imposition  of  toll  at  the  rate  of  ten  cents  a  mile  so  chafed 
the  tourists  that  an  agitation  was  soon  started  which  was  destined  to 
seal  the  fate  of  the  turnpike. 

The  Rutland  (Vermont)  Herald  said  of  this  road,  in  January,  19 14, 

By  actual  count  there  are  143  water  bars  on  the  six  miles  of  road,  mostly  of  the 
"  comb  "  type,  on  which  the  low  cars  of  recent  years  frequently  become  stalled. 
Many  of  the  tourists  after  their  first  trip  over  the  turnpike  have  carried  from  Man- 
chester, short  pieces  of  heavy  plank  with  which  to  bridge  the  trenches  in  front  of  the 
water  bars. 

Aided  by  the  protests  of  the  automobile  tourists,  the  local  representa- 
tives succeeded  in  getting  through  the  legislature  of  19 13  a  bill  designed 
to  free  the  Peru  Turnpike.  By  this  act  the  state  highway  commissioner 
was  authorized  to  purchase  the  road,  or  to  assist  the  towns  in  which  it 
lay  to  acquire  the  same  by  condemnation.  Or  failing  to  secure  satis- 
factory terms  from  the  corporation,  the  commissioner  was  to  be  allowed 
to  use  the  pressure  which  we  have  seen  applied  to  the  Passumpsic,  that 
is,  he  was  to  build  a  public  road  parallel  to  the  turnpike  and  leave  the 
toll  road  to,  its  own  devices. 

In  September,  1913,  the  author  had  the  experience  of  passing  over 
this  turnpike,  and  of  paying  toll  of  fifty  cents  at  the  gate,  a  photograph 
of  which  he  made  at  the  time.  The  trip  over  the  road  is  sufficiently 
described  by  the  photographs  which  are  here  reproduced. 

None  of  the  turnpike  was  ever  built  within  the  town  of  Manchester. 
It  commenced  at  the  line  between  that  town  and  Winhall,  near  where 
the  gate  stood,  and  ran  thence  northeasterly  across  the  corner  of  the 
latter  town  and  into  Peru,  a  length  of  about  six  miles.  About  a  mile 
from  the  easterly  end,  the  road  to  South  Londonderry  branches  off,  and 
nearly  half  the  turnpike  travel  takes  that  road,  making  only  five  miles 
of  turnpike  used. 

Very  early  in  the  year  1914  announcements  of  the  immediate  open- 
ing of  the  road  appeared  in  various  newspapers  of  New  York  and 
New  England,  but  the  realization  was  long  in  following.  Encouraged 
by  the  support  of  the  state,  the  towns  of  Winhall  and  Peru  entered 
proceedings  in  the  Bennington  county  court,  for  the  taking  of  the  road 
under  the  right  of  eminent  domain.  The  commissioners  appointed  by 
the  court  duly  held  a  hearing  on  the  matter  and  made  their  report  in  the 

[277] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

summer  of  191 6,  fixing  the  price  to  be  paid  the  corporation  for  the  loss 
of  its  road  with  its  franchise  rights  and  all  its  real  estate  holdings  at 
approximately  twenty-two  thousand  dollars. 

The  report  receiving  the  approval  of  the  court,  the  turnpike  finally 
became  free  in  the  early  summer  of  19 17. 

The  charter  of  the  Burke  Turnpike  Company,  granted  November  9, 
181 5,  allowed  the  building  of  a  road  thirty  miles  long,  from  the  Canada 
line  in  Holland  southerly  to  Burke  Hollow.  No  evidence  has  been 
found  that  such  a  road  was  ever  built,  but  the  charter  calls  for  comment 
on  account  of  its  providing  that  towns  along  the  route  might  vote  to  have 
taxes  worked  out  on  the  turnpike,  in  which  case  those  working  for  that 
purpose  should  be  exempt  from  toll.  The  equity  of  such  a  provision  is 
not  easily  seen.  Why  should  the  towns  do  any  work  at  all  on  a  privately 
owned  road  maintained  for  profit;  and  why  should  a  man,  paying  his 
taxes  in  labor,  receive  a  premium  in  the  shape  of  toll  exemptions  ? 


THE   DANVILLE   TURNPIKE 

We  have  followed  the  struggles  of  the  Northern  Turnpike  Company 
of  Vermont,  and  noted  that  it  succeeded  in  building  only  eight  miles  of 
its  road.  We  now  find  an  act,  passed  November  II,  1815,  creating  the 
Danville  Turnpike  Company,  reciting  that  the  rights  of  the  Northern 
had  expired,  and  giving  the  completed  portion  of  its  road  to  the  new 
corporation.  Thus  the  Danville  is  the  only  company  which  has  been 
found  which  began  its  existence  with  a  completed  turnpike  and  a  tollgate 
on  it.  This  road  connected  the  village  of  Danville  with  St.  Johnsbury 
Plain,  ending  near  the  large  scale  factory  of  the  Fairbanks  Company. 

By  1833  the  company  had  fallen  into  bad  financial  condition,  and  on 
October  29  of  that  year  an  act  was  passed  by  which  the  corporation  was 
to  be  dissolved,  when  it  voted  to  accept  the  provisions  of  the  act  and 
paid  a  fine  which  had  been  imposed  on  it  for  failure  to  keep  its  road  in 
proper  condition. 


THE   WARREN   TURNPIKE 

The  Warren  Turnpike  Company  received  its  charter  November  17, 
1825.  The  route  over  which  this  company  built  its  road  extended  from 
Sterling  and  Adams  mills  in  Warren  to  the  "  east,  north,  and  south 
road,"  passing  through  Lincoln.  The  length  of  the  road  was  eight  miles 
and  it  seems  to  have  been  promptly  built,  for  the  company  was  back  at 
the  next  session  of  the  legislature  asking  to  have  an  omission  in  its  rates 
of  toll  supplied.  This  was  done  by  an  act  which  specified  that  a  "  person 
and  horse  "  should  pay  a  toll  of  six  cents. 
[278] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF  VERMONT 

Easterly  from  Warren  the  turnpike  followed  up  the  valley  of  Lincoln 
Brook  to  the  town  line,  thence  taking  a  direct  line  to  its  terminus  in 
Lincoln. 

THE    SHERBURNE   TURNPIKE 

November  6,  1826,  the  Sherburne  Turnpike  Company  was  formed 
to  build  a  road  over  the  route  which  the  Woodstock  and  Rutland  had 
tried  to  occupy  in  1805.  The  year  1826  was  more  auspicious  evidently, 
for  the  Sherburne  was  built  from  the  "  flat  on  the  north  side  of  the 
Queechy  river  in  Bridgewater,"  up  the  river  and  over  the  hill,  to  a  junc- 
tion with  the  Rutland  and  Stockbridge  in  the  northwesterly  corner  of  the 
town  of  Sherburne.  In  1829  an  alteration  in  the  rates  of  toll  was  pro- 
vided by  legislative  act  and  the  coveted  privilege  of  reducing  its  tolls  was 
bestowed  on  the  company.  Toll  exemptions  were  reduced  in  .1835,  and 
in  1847  't  was  enacted  that  certain  exemptions  on  loads  of  goods  should 
not  apply  to  any  loads  bought  outside  of  the  town  of  Sherburne.  These 
dates  show  that  this  turnpike  lived  to  a  voting  age,  but  the  date  of  its 
becoming  free  has  not  been  found. 

THE    SEARSBURG   TURNPIKE 

There  does  not  seem  to  have  been  room  for  two  companies  in  the 
territory  granted  to  the  Windham  Turnpike  Corporation,  yet  the  Sears- 
burg  Turnpike  Company  was  chartered  October  28,  1828,  to  build  from 
the  east  line  of  Searsburg  to  the  east  line  of  Bennington.  Nor  are  there 
evidences  on  the  map  that  two  turnpikes  ever  were  built,  and  the  only 
explanation  seems  to  be  that  the  Windham  Company  had  allowed  its 
road  to  become  impassable  and  had  abandoned  it,  and  that  the  new 
company  was  formed  to  recover  the  road  and  put  it  into  a  satisfactory 
state  of  repair.  But  that  must  have  been  a  hard  job,  for  they  had  to 
ask  the  legislature  of  1831  for  an  extension  of  one  year  on  their  time 
limit,  within  which  additional  time  the  road  was  completed.  That  it 
was  operated  for  at  least  thirty  years  is  seen  from  the  act  of  November 
2,  i860,  in  which  the  portion  in  Bennington  and  in  the  westerly  part  of 
Woodford  was  made  free. 

Apparently  the  Searsburg,  at  some  period,  was  a  plank  road,  for  the 
company  is  named  in  an  act  of  1852  as  the  Searsburg  Plank  Road  Com- 
pany. A  company  to  build  a  plank  road  connecting  with  the  Searsburg 
Turnpike  had  been  created  in  1849,  and  in  1852  it  was  allowed  to  ex- 
tend its  road,  section  two  of  the  act  providing  that  the  Searsburg  Plank 
Road  Company  might  construct  and  operate  such  road. 


THE    GOSHEN    TURNPIKE 

A  short  piece  of  road  to  extend  from  "  Blake's  furnace  in  Brandon 
to  Jones'  sawmill  in  Goshen  was  chartered  October  31,   1834,  to  the 

[279] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

Goshen  Turnpike  Company.  A  slight  jolt  was  given  this  company  the 
next  year  by  an  act  which  required  that  the  first  meeting  of  the  corpora- 
tion  should  be  held  within  a  year.  In  1838,  1840,  and  1842,  acts  were 
secured  extending  the  time  within  which  the  road  must  be  completed, 
and  we  are  justified  in  assuming  that  the  turnpike  was  opened  for  busi- 
ness about  the  end  of  the  year  1842. 

October  26,  1852,  after  a  scant  ten  years  of  life,  the  company  ob» 
tained  legislative  authority  to  assign  its  stock  to  the  towns  involved,  and 
to  turn  the  road  over  to  them  whether  they  wished  it  or  not. 

The  first  charter  for  a  plank  road  in  New  England  was  granted 
November  7,  1849,  tc"  tne  St.  Albans  and  Richford  Plank  Road  Com- 
pany. This  company  proposed  to  build  its  road  from  St.  Albans  Bay 
to  Richford  and  thence  to  the  Canada  line,  but  no  reason  has  been  found 
to  believe  it  carried  out  its  intentions. 


THE    LAMOILLE    COUNTY   PLANK   ROAD 

Two  days  later  the  Lamoille  County  Plank  Road  Company  was 
granted  a  charter  to  build  from  Waterbury  Street  through  Stowe  and 
Morristown  to  Hyde  Park,  and  the  road  of  this  company  seems  to  have 
been  the  first  plank  road  in  New  England,  unless  the  Searsburg  Turn- 
pike had  changed  over  before  that  date. 

A  peculiar  privilege,  noted  in  connection  with  several  Vermont  turn- 
pikes, was  granted  to  this  company  in  1858,  when  it  was  authorized 
"  to  survey  its  road."  That  this  was  not  a  preliminary  to  construction 
is  seen  by  the  act  further  providing  penalties  unless  needed  repairs  were 
made.  Probably  the  intention  was  to  allow  a  relocation,  but  it  seems 
worthy  of  note  that  such  a  simple  piece  of  business  was  regarded  as  out- 
side of  the  rights  and  privileges  granted  to  turnpike  companies,  and  only 
to  be  done  after  legislative  permission  had  been  secured. 

The  same  act  abundantly  testifies  that  the  business  of  a  plank  road 
had  not  been  remunerative,  and  that  the  materials  of  construction  were 
too  short-lived  for  road  purposes.  In  it  the  company  was  forbidden  to 
collect  tolls  after  fifteen  days  from  the  passage  of  the  act,  unless  the 
road  was  repaired  and  kept  "  to  the  satisfaction  of  Hon.  Thomas  Gleed 
of  Morristown,  whose  decision  shall  be  final."  It  is  refreshing  to  note 
that  the  honorable  gentleman's  name  is  spelled  with  an  "  1  "  and  not 
with  an  "  r,"  for  the  opportunities  for  graft  thus  conferred  upon  him 
were  limited  only  by  the  gross  earnings  of  the  road. 

A  notable  change  in  the  manner  of  chartering  corporations  is  found 
in  the  charter  of  the  Bellwater  Plank  Road  Company,  which  was 
granted  November  13,  1849.  Here  we  see  the  first  attempt  to  regulate 
the  issue  of  stock,  the  shares  being  fixed  at  a  value  of  fifty  dollars  and 
established  as  personal  property,  while  the  total  capital  was  fixed,  elas- 
[280] 


THE  TURNPIKES   OF  VERMONT 

tically,  at  ten  thousand  dollars,  which  might  be  increased  "  to  any  neces- 
sary amount."  A  further  advance  was  made  in  allowing  the  company 
to  fix  its  own  rate  of  tolls,  subject  to  reduction  by  proper  authority  if  it 
appeared  that  over  ten  per  cent  was  being  earned.  Except  for  the  above 
items  we  would  not  give  space  to  this  company,  for  we  have  not  learned 
that  such  a  road  was  ever  built. 


THE   GLASTONBURY    PLANK   ROAD 

The  Glastonbury  Plank  Road  Company,  created  November  13,  1849, 
was  the  one  which  we  have  already  noted  as  having  been  absorbed  by  the 
Searsburg  Company.  Its  road  was  to  extend  from  the  Searsburg  Turn- 
pike, in  Woodford,  to  the  westerly  line  of  the  town  of  Somerset,  pass- 
ing diagonally  across  the  town  of  Glastonbury.  The  prospect  must  have 
been  discouraging,  for  two  years  later  the  company  appealed  to  the 
legislature  and  secured  an  extension  of  four  years  on  its  time  limit.  It 
must  have  been  soon  after  this  that  the  management  of  the  Searsburg 
became  interested  and  built  the  road,  for  the  act  of  October  26,  1852, 
shows  that  the  Glastonbury  had  been  finished,  and  that  an  extension  was 
then  allowed  from  its  eastern  terminus,  through  Somerset  to  the  Sears- 
burg Turnpike  near  Doane's  Mills  in  Searsburg. 


THE    VERGENNES    AND    BRISTOL    PLANK    ROAD 

The  Vergennes  and  Bristol  Plank  Road  Company  received  its  fran- 
chise November  9,  1850,  and,  without  asking  any  extensions  of  its  time 
limit,  built  its  turnpike  between  the  places  named.  Nine  years  later  the 
company  was  released  from  all  obligation  to  keep  its  road  planked  but, 
instead,  was  allowed  to  "  construct  and  repair  their  road  with  earth  and 
gravel  in  the  usual  manner  of  constructing  and  repairing  turnpike 
roads."  This  is  interesting  on  account  of  the  information  regarding  the 
life  and  durability  of  plank  roads  and  the  comparative  expense  of  con- 
struction and  maintenance.  Here  we  have  a  plank  road  played  out  at 
the  end  of  nine  years,  including  the  time  spent  in  construction,  and  the 
proprietors  convinced  that  the  common  dirt  road  is  better  and  cheaper. 
That  there  was  not  travel  enough  over  the  road  to  pay  for  its  upkeep 
is  plainly  to  be  seen,  so  we  are  left  to  conclude  that  decay  was  a  promi- 
nent factor  in  its  destruction. 

But  the  receipts  from  tolls  were  not  sufficient  to  pay  for  a  common 
dirt  road,  and  in  1861  the  company  was  allowed  to  surrender  its  charter 
and  its  turnpike. 

Previous  to  1850  all  turnpike  corporations  had  been  formed  by  en- 
acting that  certain  designated  persons  should  form  the  corporation,  but 
the  charter  of  the  Danville  and  Passumpsic  Plank  Road  Company,  en- 
acted November  13,  1850,  followed  a  new  line  of  its  own. 

[281] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

Such  persons  as  shall  hereafter  become  Stockholders  of  said  company  are  hereby 
constituted  a  body  corporate  by  the  name  of  .  .  . 

was  the  wording  of  its  opening  section.  This  company  was  to  build 
from  Danville  to  the  Connecticut  and  Passumpsic  Rivers  Railroad  near 
the  McLaren  place  in  Barnet,  but  a  later  act,  passed  in  1851,  gave  it 
an  optional  terminus  in  St.  Johnsbury.  McLaren  was  the  early  name 
of  the  village  of  East  Barnet,  at  the  station  of  Inwood  on  the  railroad. 

What  encouragement  the  promoters  of  this  scheme  could  find  is  hard 
to  see.  Seventeen  years  before,  the  Danville  Turnpike  had  been  aban- 
doned after  a  disheartening  struggle  to  maintain  a  road  over  the  identi- 
cal route  allowed  by  the  supplemental  act,  and  we  can  only  conclude 
that  the  promoters  reasoned  that  times  had  improved  with  the  advent 
of  the  railroad,  and  that  such  a  road  would  pay  as  a  feeder  to  the  larger 
means  of  transportation.  But  if  they  did  so  reason  they  failed  to  con- 
vince others,  and  their  scheme  passed  into  the  inactive  list. 


THE    MOUNT    MANSFIELD   TURNPIKE 

Three  attempts  to  climb  Mount  Mansfield  are  next  noted.  The 
Cambridge-Mount  Mansfield  Turnpike  Road  Company,  created  Oc- 
tober 27,  1866,  calls  for  comment  on  account  of  its  location  requirement 
being  diametrically  opposite  the  usual  conception  in  the  minds  of  turn- 
pike promoters.     It  was  to  build 

from  the  residence  of  Edward  Hanley  in  Cambridge,  .  .  .  on  a  zig  xag  line  to  the 
"  Lake  of  the  Clouds  "  so  called,  near  that  part  of  Mount  Mansfield,  known  as  the 
"  Chin." 

This  company  was  to  be  allowed  to  locate  its  own  gates  and  deter- 
mine for  itself  its  rates  of  toll,  but  even  that  privilege  did  not  enable  it 
to  build.  November  23,  1874,  a  duplicate  of  the  charter  was  enacted, 
only  this  time  the  road  was  to  commence  at  the  residence  of  the  "  Widow 
Charles  Gallup,"  and  the  stockholders  were  made  liable  for  all  debts 
in  excess  of  one  half  the  paid-in  capital.  The  other  attempt  was  made 
from  the  other  side,  "  The  Mount  Mansfield  Hotel  Company  at  Stowe 
and  such  persons  as  may  become  stockholders  "  being  incorporated  as 
the  Mount  Mansfield  Turnpike  Company  November  20,  1867. 

This  company,  under  its  franchise  to  build  from  "  near  the  Half 
Way  House  in  Stowe  to  the  Summit  House,  in  such  a  line  as  the  said 
stockholders  may  determine,"  constructed  five  miles  of  mountain- 
climbing  road  up  the  valley  of  the  west  branch,  and  ending  on  the  sum- 
mit. This  road  forms  a  branch  of  the  well-known  "  Smugglers'  Notch 
Road  "  and  is  reached  by  turning  to  the  northwest  about  a  mile  north- 
erly from  Stowe  Center  on  the  main  road  between  Waterbury  and 
Morristown.  The  Turnpike  is  now  maintained,  and  tolls  collected,  by 
the  management  of  the  Summit  House. 

In  this  company,  also,  the  directors  and  stockholders  were  liable  for 
[282] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF  VERMONT 

debts  in  excess  of  half  the  paid-in  capital.  The  management  was 
allowed  to  pick  the  location  of  its  gates,  but  the  rates  of  toll  were  to 
be  fixed  by  the  assistant  judges  of  the  county  court. 

The  last  turnpike  charter  granted  in  Vermont  was  enacted  by  the 
legislature  November  18,  1892,  when  the  Elmore  Pond  Turnpike  and 
Building  Company  was  created.  It  may  be  objected  that  this  was  not 
a  real  turnpike  company,  for  really  that  purpose  seems  to  have  been 
but  a  side  issue,  but  the  turnpike  franchise  is  there.  The  purpose  of  the 
company  seems  to  have  been  the  development  of  the  land  around  Elmore 
Pond,  and  the  consequent  sales,  and  for  that  purpose  it  proposed  to 
construct  a  turnpike  around  the  pond  and  to  the  summit  of  Elmore 
Mountain.  It  is  amusing  to  note  that  the  charter  allows  the  building 
of  a  turnpike  but  does  not  provide  that  the  company  may  operate  it 
when  built;  and  that  it  was  authorized  to  vote  to  erect  tollgates,  but  had 
no  authority  to  so  erect  them  nor  to  collect  toll  at  them.  While  a  road 
was  very  likely  built,  it  is  extremely  doubtful  if  it  ever  was  operated  as 
a  turnpike,  for  it  would  have  been  folly  for  anyone  seeking  to  develop 
land  to  thus  handicap  his  purpose. 

In  addition  to  the  fifty-three  companies  whose  doings  we  have  at- 
tempted to  chronicle,  the  following  thirty-eight  corporations,  of  which 
we  have  learned  nothing  yet,  were  incorporated  by  the  Vermont 
legislature : 

1803  Stamford Readsboro,  through  Stamford  to  the 

Massachusetts  line. 

1804  Caledonia Newbury  to  Danville. 

1807    Chelsea Chelsea  to  Barre. 

181 1    Orange  and  Corinth Through     Corinth     to     Connecticut 

River. 

1813  Bridport Bridport  to  Vergennes. 

Burlington Vergennes  to  Burlington. 

1 81 4  Barre End  of  Winooski  to  Williamstown. 

Panton East  and  west  across  Panton. 

Memphremagog Lyndon  Corner  to  Narrows  of  lake. 

1 81 5  Mansfield Cambridge  to  Stowe. 

Benson Massachusetts  line  to  Fairhaven. 

West  River Townshend  to  Winhall. 

Putney Through    Putney   and    Brookline   to 

Newfane. 
1818    Tinmouth West  end  of  Green  Mountain  Turn- 
pike to  Middleton. 

1822  Winhall From  Peru  Turnpike  into  Winhall. 

1823  Jamaica Jamaica  to  Winhall. 

1826    Ore-bed Somerset  to  Glastonbury. 

Ripton From  the  Green  Mountain  in  Rip- 
ton,  to  the  Warren  Turnpike. 

1833    Pownal    McAdam Southeasterly  across  Pownal. 

Readsboro      Woodford  City  to  Whitingham. 

1835    Lincoln      Lincoln  to  Granville. 

Huntington Bristol  to  Huntington. 

[283] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

1841  Willoughby  Lake Through  Westmore. 

Readsboro  and  Woodford Through  those  towns. 

1842  Branch Danby  to  Mount  Tabor. 

1849  Montpelier  and  Lamoille  Plank     .    .  Montpelier  to  Lamoille  Valley. 

1850  Shelburne  and   Hinesburg Between  those  towns. 

Williston Williston  to  Burlington. 

Williston  and  Jericho  Plank  ....  Between  those  towns. 

Georgia  and  Johnson " 

Hinesburg  and  Burlington "  " 

1 85 1  St.  Albans  and  Bakersfield  Plank  .    . 

Stamford  and  Readsboro  "        .    .  Through    " 

1852  Rutland  and  Chittendon  Plank  .    .    .   Between     "  " 

1853  Forestdale  Plank Brandon  to  Forestdale. 

i860  Fayston Fayston  to  Bristol. 

1865  Bakersfield  and  Waterville     ....  Between  those  towns. 

1874  Notch Stowe  to  Underhill. 


[284] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  RHODE  ISLAND 


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THE  TURNPIKES  OF  RHODE  ISLAND 

THE  first  turnpike  corporation  in  New  England  was  created  by 
the  general  assembly  of  Rhode  Island  at  the  February  ses- 
sion in  1794.  As  in  other  states,  the  first  charter  has  been 
found  to  be  a  pretty  accurate  forerunner  of  the  later  ones,  and  the 
following  notes  are  given  to  show  the  usual  practice  in  that  state." 

The  capital  stock,  number,  and  par  value  of  the  shares  was  fixed  in 
the  act  of  incorporation  (fifty  shares  at  one  hundred  dollars  each  for 
the  first  corporation),  and  each  share  of  stock  carried  one  vote  at  all 
meetings  at  which  its  holder  was  present.  The  time  and  place  for  hold- 
ing the  annual  meeting  was  specified,  and  provision  made  for  calling 
and  holding  special  meetings.  The  number  necessary  to  constitute  a 
quorum  was  established  but  the  corporation  was  otherwise  allowed  to 
determine  its  own  by-laws.  The  corporation  was  authorized  to  "  ac- 
quire and  convey  "  a  limited  amount  of  land,  the  quantity  being  evi- 
dently sufficient  to  provide  for  the  roadway  and  grounds  for  the  toll- 
houses and  all  kinds  of  personal  property.  Rates  of  toll  were  allowed 
as  follows : 

Cents 

A  waggon,  Cart,  or  Ox-sled  Team,  not  exceeding  Four  Cattle    ....  12^ 

A  Team  of  more  than  Four  Cattle 15 

A  Sleigh  with  more  than  One  Horse 12I4 

A  One  Horse  Sleigh 6 

A  Coach,  Chariot,  or  Phaeton 4° 

A  Chaise,  Chair,  or  Sulkey 20 

A  Horse  and  Horse  Cart 6 

A  Person  and  Horse 6 

Horses  or  Mules  in  Droves,  per  head 2 

Neat  Cattle  in  Droves,  per  head I 

Swine  in  Droves,  for  every  Fifteen 10 

For  any  less  Number  than  Fifteen,  each 1 

Sheep  and  Store  Shoats,  each Vi 

Exemptions  from  toll  were  allowed  thus: 

And  that  Foot  Passengers  be  not  liable  to  any  toll  nor  nigh  Inhabitants  passing  on 
said  Turnpike  Road,  for  the  purposes  of  attending  public  Worship,  Funerals,  Town- 
meetings,  or  other  Town  Business,  or  going  to  and  from  Mills,  or  for  the  Purposes 
of  Husbandry. 

"  To  ascertain  the  Produce  of  the  said  Toll,  a  fair  account  shall  be 
kept,"  which  account  was  to  be  open  at  any  time  for  the  inspection  of 
any  committee  which  the  general  assembly  might  appoint. 

The  obligation  of  the  corporation  to  maintain  its  road  was  plainly 

[287] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

stated,  but  it  seems  that  the  act  provided  that  the  road  might  be  aban- 
doned whenever  the  company  desired.     Witness: 

And  it  is  further  Enacted  by  the  Authority  aforesaid,  That  the  said  Corporation 
shall  at  all  times  keep  the  said  Turnpike  Road  in  good  Repair,  at  the  proper  expense 
of  the  said  Corporation,  and  their  Successors  and  Assigns,  for  so  long  Time  as  they 
shall  collect  and  receive  the  aforesaid  Toll. 

The  usual  clause  appears  providing  that  when  the  original  invest- 
ment, plus  twelve  per  cent,  had  been  repaid  the  road  should  become 
public  property. 

As  in  New  Hampshire,  nearly  every  petty  detail  was  the  subject  of 
a  special  legislative  act,  and  the  Rhode  Island  General  Statutes,  com- 
piled in  1857,  contained  but  one  chapter  of  four  sections  on  the  subject 
of  "  Turnpikes  and  Toll  Bridges."  It  was  provided  that  corporations 
of  that  nature  could  not  hold  land  for  any  purpose  other  than  that 
contemplated  by  the  original  charter,  or  amendments  thereto.  A  justice 
of  the  supreme  court,  could,  upon  complaint  of  a  road  being  in  bad 
order,  cause  the  gates  to  be  opened  and  to  remain  open  until  the  road 
was  repaired  to  his  satisfaction.  The  third  section  merely  reiterated 
the  provision  in  most  of  the  charters  that  an  account  of  tolls  was  to  be 
kept  and  held  open  to  the  inspection  of  any  committee  of  the  general 
assembly,  and  section  four  put  it  up  to  the  toll  gatherer  to  behave  him- 
self, by  making  him  liable  to  damages  if  he  demanded  toll  in  excess  of 
that  legally  allowed.  For  the  first  offense  the  complainant  might  re- 
cover from  two  to  five  dollars,  while  subsequent  attempts  at  extortion 
were  to  be  followed  by  a  twenty-dollar  penalty. 

In  the  revision  of  1872  the  same  four  sections  appeared,  with  three 
additional  ones,  which  provided  that  any  corporation  could  sell  its  road 
to  any  town  traversed  by  it  on  mutually  agreed  terms.  Owners  of  land 
adjoining  the  turnpike  were  to  be  notified  and  a  hearing  given,  after 
which  the  road  might  become  a  part  of  the  public  system  and  the 
corporation  be  relieved  from  responsibility  for  its  maintenance.  Such 
money  as  the  corporation  received  was  first  to  be  applied  in  settlement 
of  its  debts. 

The  turnpike  movement  in  Rhode  Island  increased  rapidly,  and  by 
the  year  1820  the  state  was  crisscrossed  with  such  roads,  the  town  of 
Providence  being  a  veritable  turnpike  center.  Few  companies  were 
allowed  to  build  within  the  town  limits  of  Providence,  nearly  all  being 
obliged  to  terminate  their  roads  at  the  boundary.  A  map  of  "  Greater 
Providence  "  in  19 16  is  here  reproduced,  on  which  are  shown  the  vari- 
ous turnpikes  which  entered  that  section,  only  three  of  which,  the 
branch  of  the  Providence  and  Douglas,  the  Pawtuxet,  and  the  Pawtucket 
and  Providence  East,  were  allowed  to  build  within  the  town  limits. 
Special  pains  have  been  taken  to  show  the  termination  of  each  of  the 
others  at  what  was  then  the  boundary  line  of  the  town,  and  the  map  is 
further  interesting  for  showing  what  a  mere  nucleus  of  the  present  great 
city  the  town  of  1820  was. 
[288] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    RHODE    ISLAND 

The  early  Rhode  Island  incorporations  allowed  the  created  companies 
to  take  over  and  repair  existing  roads,  after  which  the  investors  were  to 
recoup  themselves  by  collecting  tolls,  but  we  soon  find  corporations  char- 
tered for  the  purpose  of  building  entirely  new  thoroughfares.  The 
number  of  gates  at  which  toll  was  to  be  collected  was  specified  in  the 
charters,  but  the  location  of  such  gatesi  was  left  to  the  discretion  of  the 
companies,  subject  sometimes  to  restrictions  within  a  certain  number 
of  miles.  ' 

Persons  desiring  the  privilege  of  building  turnpike  roads  made  peti- 
tion for  a  charter  to  the  general  assembly,  which  petition  was  invari- 
ably referred  to  the  next  session,  with  an  order  to  advertise  giving  notice 
to  all  parties  interested.  At  the  same  time  a  committee  would  be  ap- 
pointed by  the  assembly  to  view  the  route  proposed  and  report  on  the 
same,  such  committee  being  usually  instructed  to  present  a  "  plat  "  to 
illustrate  its  report.  Many  more  petitions  have  been  found  in  the  legis- 
lative records  than  acts  of  incorporation,  which  may  indicate  that  the 
general  assembly  weeded  out  the  unnecessary  schemes. 

Late  in  the  sixties  the  people  became  restless  under  the  imposition  of 
tolls  on  certain  of  the  roads  over  which  they  had  to  travel,  a  feeling 
which  we  find  reflected  in  the  legislative  acts  at  that  time.  A  joint  special 
committee,  which  had  been  appointed  to  make  an  investigation  of  the 
toll  bridges  and  turnpikes  of  the  state  and  to  devise  some  method  by 
which  all  could  be  freed,  made  its  report  to  the  May  session  of  1870. 
This  committee  had  found  two  toll  bridges  and  six  turnpikes,  and  its 
report  was  little  more  than  a  tabulation  of  such  with  a  few  comments 
on  each.  In  conclusion,  inability  to  formulate  any  plan  by  which  the 
roads  and  bridges  could  be  made  free  was  confessed. 

In  January,  1871,  Edward  Darling  was  elected  commissioner  of 
turnpikes  under  authority  of  an  act  passed  a  few  days  earlier  by  which 
such  an  office  was  created.  His  term  of  office  was  one  year  and  his 
duties  were  to  annually  examine  each  turnpike  and  order  such  repairs 
as  he  found  necessary.  If  the  corporation  failed  to  obey  the  orders  of 
the  commissioner,  he  was  authorized  to  use  the  familiar  weapon  of 
opening  the  gate  for  free  passage  of  all.  If  that  persuasion  failed  for 
three  years  the  road  thereupon  was  to  become  forever  free.  Annual 
reports  were  required  but  only  one  appears  to  have  been  made.  That 
was  submitted  to  the  general  assembly  at  its  January  session  in  1872 
and  reported  five  turnpikes,  on  all  of  which  repairs  had  been  ordered. 
The  commissioner  hoped  that  all  those  roads  would  have  become  free 
before  he  fell  under  the  necessity  of  writing  another  report. 

The  comments  of  the  commissioner  and  of  the  special  committee  on 
the  respective  roads  will  be  mentioned  in  connection  with  each  road 
later. 

Every  Rhode  Island  turnpike  was  established  on  the  American  prin- 
ciple of  private  investment,  but  a  precedent  must  have  been  derived 
from  the  English  turnpike  trust  system  when  the  assembly  enacted  that 

[289] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

the  inability  of  the  Proprietors  of  the  Providence  and  NorwichTurnpike 
to  keep  their  road  in  repair  should  be  met  by  an  obligation  imposed 
upon  the  towns  to  expend  money  and  labor  on  that  road.  This  will  be 
mentioned  at  greater  length  later. 


THE   WEST   GLOCESTER  TURNPIKE 

The  official  name  of  the  corporation  by  which  this  road  was  operated 
for  many  years  was  "  The  Society  for  establishing  and  supporting  a 
Turnpike  Road  from  Cepatchit  Bridge  in  Glocester,  to  Connecticut 
Line,"  but  the  road  was  generally  known  as  above  indicated.  The 
corporation  was  created  at  the  February  session  of  the  general  as- 
sembly in  1794,  and  was  the  first  turnpike  corporation  formed  in  New 
England.  For  a  year  or  two  prior  to  the  incorporation  of  this  company, 
the  old  Mohegan  Road  from  New  London  to  Norwich,  and  the  section 
in  Greenwich,  Connecticut,  of  the  New  York  Post  Road,  had  been 
operated  as  toll  roads,  but  not  by  incorporated  companies.  Commis- 
sioners had  been  appointed  to  manage  such  roads  in  behalf  of  the  coun- 
ties within  which  they  were  located,  and  the  receipts  from  tolls  were 
used  entirely  on  repairs  of  the  road.  Hence  the  West  Glocester  Turn- 
pike was  the  first  of  what  we  have  chosen  to  call  "  commercial  turn- 
pikes "  in  New  England. 

The  charter  allowed  the  company  to  build  its  road 

from  Cepatchit  Bridge  in  Glocester  to  Connecticut  Line,  on  the  great  Road  lead- 
ing from  Providence  to  Killingly. 

One  gate  was  allowed  at  any  place  within  four  miles  of  the  Connecticut 
line. 

In  the  petition  for  a  charter  the  subscribers  had  set  forth  that  they 
had  subscribed  eight  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  for  the  purpose  of  re- 
pairing the  road  which  they  desired  for  their  turnpike,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  pounds  for  repairing  the  road  toward  Providence  from  "  Cepatchit 
Bridge,"  and  various  stated  sums  for  repairs  on  other  connecting  roads 
in  Massachusetts  and  Connecticut,  as  well  as  in  Rhode  Island.  So  the 
total  of  the  sums  subscribed  was  made  the  amount  of  the  capital  stock 
of  the  company,  and  the  amount  which  was  to  be  earned,  with  twelve- 
per-cent  interest,  before  the  road  was  to  become  free.  Work  must  have 
been  commenced  promptly,  for  the  company  appeared  at  the  October 
session  in  the  same  year,  stating  that  its  original  estimate  of  eight  hun- 
dred and  fifty  pounds  was  not  sufficient  to  accomplish  the  necessary 
repairs  on  the  old  road,  and  asking  that  it  might  expend  an  additional 
one  hundred  and  fifty,  the  same  to  be  included  in  the  amount  for  which 
reimbursement  was  to  be  allowed.  This  was  granted  by  an  act  passed 
at  the  same  session. 

In  February,  1800,  this  company  made  a  rather  comprehensive  and 
amusing  petition.  Strange  to  say,  differences  of  opinion  had  arisen  with 
[ago] 


Plate  LXXIV 


In  North  Central  Gloucester 
Entering  Chepachet  from  the  west 
Chepachet,  R.  I. 

Plate  LXXV — -West  Glocester  Turnpike 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    RHODE    ISLAND 

the  assessors  of  taxes  for  the  town  of  Gloucester,  and  the  turnpike 
corporation  appealed  to  the  general  assembly  to  enact  that  its  capital 
stock,  land,  and  buildings  be  exempted  from  taxation  and  relieved  from 
past  assessments.  Either  for  the  sake  of  getting  good  measure  or  to 
befog  the  issue,  it  was  further  asked  that  the  toll  gatherer  of  the  com- 
pany should  be  allowed  to  sell  intoxicating  liquors  without  the  formality 
of  obtaining  a  license;  and  the  trivial  privilege  of  holding  the  cor- 
poration meetings  in  the  tollhouse  was  solicited.  Evidently  the  forces 
of  temperance  were  on  the  alert,  for  all  that  was  granted  of  the 
prayer  was  that  meetings  might  be  held  in  the  tollhouse,  and  that 
Gloucester  should  not  tax  any  shares  of  stock  owned  by  residents  of 
other  towns. 

The  length  of  the  road  operated  by  this  corporation  was  about  seven 
miles,  so  the  thousand  pounds  which  we  have  seen  available  for  its 
repair  spread  out  about  seven  hundred  dollars  a  mile,  which  we  have 
seen  was  sufficient  to  build  certain  of  the  Massachusetts  roads  of  a  simi- 
lar grade.  But  an  insufficient  sort  of  work  must  have  been  accomplished 
on  this  Rhode  Island  road,  for  after  the  company  had  had  it  under  its 
control  for  six  years,  a  committee  of  the  general  assembly,  appointed 
for  the  purpose  of  examining  the  road,  reported  that  it  had  been  found 
"  in  very  bad  order,"  but  that  the  necessary  repairs  had  been  made. 
Again,  in  1817,  complaint  was  made  of  the  condition  of  the  turnpike, 
which  had  been  bad  for  several  years. 

Very  little  has  been  found  in  local  Rhode  Island  histories  on  the  sub- 
ject of  turnpikes,  and  only  two  of  the  books  consulted  are  free  from 
.serious  errors.  A  historian  of  Gloucester  speaks  of  the  tavern  kept  by 
Hezekiah  Cady,  in  the  west  part  of  that  town,  and  says  that  a  tollgate 
stood  opposite  it.  As  Colonel  Joseph  Cady  lived  on  the  West  Gloces- 
ter  Turnpike,  about  two  miles  from  the  Connecticut  line,  in  1815,  it 
seems  probable  that  the  gate  in  question  was  located  on  that  turnpike. 
Only  one  other  turnpike  was  ever  built  in  the  west  part  of  Gloucester, 
and  that  was  so  close  to  the  line  of  Foster  that  it  was  not  known  to  be 
in  the  former  town  until  steps  had  been  taken  to  make  the  road  free  in 
1875. 

The  joint  committee  of  the  general  assembly,  reporting  at  the  May 
session  of  1870,  had  found  the  West  Glocester  Turnpike  in  good  con- 
dition, but  no  dividends  had  been  declared  for  three  years  and  the  re- 
ceipts were  not  exceeding  the  expenditures.  In  spite  of  such  a  discourag- 
ing situation  the  corporation  continued  to  operate  its  road  for  another 
eighteen  years. 

At  the  May  session  of  1888  nine  hundred  dollars  of  the  state's  money 
was  appropriated  to  compensate  the  town  of  Gloucester  for  assuming 
the  care  and  responsibility  of  the  turnpike,  which  was  thereby  declared 
free.  The  corporation  received  nothing  beyond  the  relief  from  obliga- 
tion to  maintain  the  road  and  thus  closed  its  ninety-four  years  of 
corporate  existence. 

[291] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   NEW   ENGLAND 


THE   PROVIDENCE   TO   NORWICH   TURNPIKE 

The  old  Post  Road  between  Boston  and  New  York,  passed  through 
Providence  and  then  followed  the  old  Pequot  Path  which  ran  along 
practically  the  lines  of  the  present  Weybosset  and  Broad  streets, 
through  East  Greenwich  and  over  Kingston  Hill,  to  Westerly,  where  it 
crossed  the  Pawcatuck  River  into  Connecticut,  and  continued  thence  to 
the  ferry  at  New  London.  That  ferry,  being  of  great  width,  must 
have  been  a  serious  obstacle  in  the  days  when  a  canoe  was  all  the  business 
demanded,  and  by  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  complaints 
were  freely  made  of  its  inconvenience.  In  171 1  the  general  assembly 
of  Rhode  Island  ordered  that  a  road  should  be  laid  out  and  built  from 
Providence  to  the  state  line  in  the  proper  direction  for  Norwich,  Con- 
necticut, the  intention  being  to  reach  the  head  of  the  Thames  River, 
where  it  could  be  more  easily  crossed  than'  at  New  London.  The 
Connecticut  general  assembly  passed  a  similar  order  at  its  October 
'session  in  171 2,  and  the  road  throughout  was  completed  in  1714,  being 
provided  with  a  "  safe  and  sufficient  bridge  "  at  the  point  where  the 
Moosup  had  previously  been  forded.  The  road  thus  built  was  a  portion 
of  the  route  over  which  the  mail  riders,  at  the  close  of  the  Revolutionary 
War,  were  able  to  average  only  about  forty  miles  a  day  in  the  best 
season,  so  it  is  not  surprising  that  this  main  line  of  travel  was  the  sub- 
ject of  early  efforts  at  improvement. 

In  October,  1794,  action  for  that  end  was  taken  in  both  Rhode  Island 
and  Connecticut,  the  latter  state  endeavoring  to  establish  a  tollgate  on 
the  Post  Road,  with  nominal  tolls,  the  entire  receipts  to  be  expended  for 
repairs  on  the  road.  In  the  same  month  the  Rhode  Island  general 
assembly  incorporated  "  The  Providence  and  Norwich  Society  for 
establishing  a  turnpike-road  from  Providence  to  Connecticut  line, 
through  Johnston,  Scituate,  Foster,  and  Coventry." 

This  corporation  was  allowed  to  take  over  the  Post  Road  as  far  as 
the  Connecticut  line  and,  when  it  had  expended  eighteen  hundred  pounds 
in  repairing  and  improving  the  road,  it  was  to  be  allowed  to  erect  its 
tollgate  at  any  place  within  nine  miles  of  the  Connecticut  boundary,  and 
to  proceed  with  the  collection  of  tolls.  By  an  act  of  the  January  ses- 
sion of  1795  the  location  of  the  gate  was  permitted  two  miles  nearer 
Providence. 

A  curious  situation  developed  at  the  January  session  in  1798,  when 
certain  citizens  resident  along  the  Post  Road  recited  their  grievances. 
Prior  to  the  acquisition  of  the  road  by  the  turnpike  company  those  citi- 
zens had  "  worked  out  their  taxes  "  on  the  town  highways,  and  a  reason- 
able proportion  of  their  labor  had  been  expended  on  the  road  which 
was  most  used  by  them.  Now  that  the  corporation  was  responsible  for 
the  maintenance  of  the  road  the  town's  energies  were  entirely  given  to 
other  sections  and,  the  turnpike  company  neglecting  to  properly  fulfill 
[292] 


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Approaching  Wawaloam  Lake  from  the  east 
Between  Chepachet  and  Harmony 
Wawaloam  Lake  from  the  west 

Plate  LXXVII  —  Glocester  Turnpike 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    RHODE    ISLAND 

its  duties,  the  road  and  the  abutting  owners  suffered  accordingly. 
Therefore  those  citizens,  having  in  mind  the  English  turnpike  trusts 
which,  failing  to  properly  maintain  their  roads,  devised  their  obligations 
to  the  municipalities,  petitioned  that  the  towns  of  Johnston  and  Crans- 
ton might  be  obliged  to  include  their  portion  of  the  Providence  and 
Norwich  Turnpike  as  a  road  district  and  keep  it  in  repair. 

This  petition  was  twice  referred,  and  it  was  two  years  before  action 
was  finally  taken  upon  it.    Then  in  February,  1800,  it  was  enacted: 

That  the  Town  Councils  and  Surveyors  of  the  towns  of  Johnston  and  Cranston  be 
and  they  are  hereby  directed  to  cause  a  just  proportion  of  highway  taxes  and  highway 
labour  to  be  expended  and  done  in  and  upon  the  said  turnpike  road,  by  the  inhabi- 
tants living  upon  or  near  the  same,  who  usually  paid  taxes  or  laboured  upon  the  said 
road  before  the  charter  of  incorporation  was  granted  to  the  turnpike  company. 

Upon  first  thought  such  a  law  seems  to  be  most  unjust  as  apparently 
it  imposed  the  burden  upon  the  two  towns  named  of  maintaining  a  high- 
way for  the  use  of  which  their  citizens  were  obliged  to  pay  toll,  but 
upon  second  consideration  the  reader  will  remember  that  only  one  toll- 
gate  was  allowed  on  this  road,  and  that  at  a  considerable  distance  west 
of  either  of  the  towns  named.  As  the  greater  part  of  the  travel  over 
the  road  in  Johnston  and  Cranston,  by  the  citizens  of  those  towns,  was 
to  and  from  Providence,  it  is  seen  that  in  reality  such  citizens  had  the 
free  use  of  the  road  while  contributing  largely  to  its  destruction. 

But  the  fact  that  the  road  was  owned  by  a  corporation  which  was 
supposed  to  be  deriving  revenue  therefrom  was  a  point  not  to  be  over- 
come, and  the  law  remained  upon  the  statute  books  only  one  year.  The 
two  towns  concerned  entered  their  remonstrance  at  the  next  October 
session,    and  the  act  was  repealed  in  the  following  February. 

For  two  years  longer  the  corporation  struggled  along  and  in  October, 
1803,  secured  the  passage  of  an  act  by  which  it  was  allowed  to  raise  ten 
thousand  dollars  by  a  lottery,  the  proceeds  "  to  be  laid  out  and  expended 
in  the  repairing  and  amending  the  turnpike-road  of  said  society."  Three 
managers  for  this  lottery  were  appointed  and,  since  the  state  stood 
sponsor  for  the  scheme,  they  were  to  give  bonds  with  sureties  to  the 
satisfaction  of  the  general  treasurer. 

Originally  the  company  was  allowed  one  gate  within  nine  miles  of  the 
state  line.  This  was  changed  so  that  the  gate  might  be  anywhere 
within  eleven  miles  of  that  boundary,  and  again  to  make  the  eastern 
limit  fourteen  miles  away.  In  February,  1805,  the  western  gate  was 
placed  within  five  miles  of  Connecticut's  jurisdiction,  and  another  gate 
was  allowed  within  eight  miles  of  the  bridge  in  Providence  when  the 
road  was  properly  repaired.  Many  other  acts  have  been  found  making 
changes  in  the  manner  of  holding  meetings,  altering  locations  of  the 
gates,  and  revising  the  location  of  the  road,  until,  in  1841,  the  name  was 
changed,  or  perhaps  it  is  better  to  say  abbreviated,  to  "  The  Providence 
and  Norwich  Turnpike  Society,"  and  the  charter  generally  revamped 
to  match  thooe  issued  to  later  companies. 

[293] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   NEW    ENGLAND 

The  portion  of  the  road  lying  within  the  town  of  Johnston  was 
deeded  to  that  town  by  the  corporation  on  August  27,  1852,  but  the 
town  apparently  did  not  appreciate  the  gift,  as  its  acceptance  did  not 
materialize  until  September  9,  1865,  over  thirteen  years  later.  Scituate 
accepted  the  deed  of  the  portion  within  its  territory  in  1866.  A  petition 
was  made  in  January,  1857,  that  the  charter  of  the  company  might  be 
annulled  and,  although  no  action  was  taken  on  the  petition,  it  seems  that 
the  whole  road  was  given  up  to  the  public  about  that  time  or  soon  after. 
In  any  case  none  of  it  was  found  in  operation  as  a  toll  road  by  the  com- 
mittee of  1870. 

The  road  which  we  have  been  considering  commenced  at  the  westerly 
line  of  Providence,  at  the  present  corner  of  Westminster  and  Stokes 
streets  in  Olneyville,  and  followed  southwesterly  along  the  present  lines 
of  Plainfield  Street  westerly,  forming  the  boundary  between  Johnston 
and  Cranston,  to  South  Scituate  and  Richmond.  Thence  it  bore  south- 
westerly again,  crossing  corners  of  Foster  and  Coventry,  and  entered 
Connecticut  near  the  little  village  of  Oneco. 

The  length  in  Rhode  Island  was  about  twenty-one  miles,  and  its  con- 
tinuation to  Norwich  added  about  nineteen  miles  more. 

The  Proprietors  of  the  Providence  and  Boston  Turnpike  Road  were 
next  incorporated  at  the  October  session  of  1800.  This  company  never 
built  its  road,  the  contemplated  service  being  rendered  a  few  years  later 
by  a  Massachusetts  company,  the  Norfolk  and  Bristol.  The  charter 
of  the  Providence  and  Boston  calls  for  a  passing  notice,  however,  on 
account  of  its  utter  disregard  of  the  state  boundary,  the  corporation 
being  authorized  to  build  and  operate  its  road  within  the  state  of  Mas- 
sachusetts as  far  as  a  point  one  mile  from  the  Wrentham  meeting-house. 

THE   RHODE   ISLAND   AND   CONNECTICUT  TURNPIKE 

This  road  formed  the  direct  connection  between  Providence  and 
Hartford,  and  it  was  quite  often  called  the  "  Hartford  Turnpike."  The 
petition  for  a  charter  was  made  to  the  assembly  at  the  May  session  of 
1802,  and  asked  the  franchise  to  build  a  turnpike 

from  tar  bridge  (so  called)  near  Colonel  Christopher  Olney's,  in  Providence,  by  the 
south  end  of  Moshanticutt  pond  .  .  .  and  on  the  direct^/  rou<  to  the  northerly 
part  of  John  Colwill's  hill  in  Foster  and  from  thence  on  the  most  direct  rout  to 
Connecticut  line. 

The  petitioners  stated  that  they  were  willing  to  spend  fifteen  thousand 
dollars  on  the  construction  of  the  road  in  return  for  the  privilege  of 
collecting  tolls. 

Tar  Bridge  was  the  name  given  to  the  bridge  over  the  Woonasqua- 
tucket  River  where  Manton  Avenue  now  crosses,  and  the  reference  to 
Colonel  Olney's  place  suggests  the  origin  of  the  name  of  the  Olneyville 
section  of  Providence. 
[294] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    RHODE    ISLAND 

The  charter  was  granted  in  February,  1803,  and  gave  the  corpora- 
tion the  imposing  name  of  "  The  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut  Society 
for  establishing  a  turnpike-road  from  or  near  the  west  line  of  the  town 
of  Providence  to  Connecticut  line,  through  Johnston,  Scituate,  and 
Foster."  Fortunately  for  the  treasurer  national  banks  had  not  then 
been  established,  so  he  was  not  obliged  to  sign  that  name  to  checks.  It 
was  provided  that,  when  the  company  had  expended  the  stated  sum  of 
fifteen  thousand  dollars,  it  might  erect  two  gates  and  proceed  with  the 
collection  of  tolls. 

Apparently  the  promoters  had  not  waited  for  the  formality  of  being 
incorporated  but  had  gone  ahead  with  the  preliminaries  for  opening 
their  road,  for  the  next  act  passed  by  the  assembly,  after  that  of  in- 
corporation, provided  for  the  appointment  of  a  committee  to  appraise 
the  damages  on  land  where  the  company's  agents  had  not  been  able  to 
make  an  agreement,  and  empowered  such  committee  to  give  possession 
to  the  corporation  after  payment  or  tender  of  the  award. 

A  complete  report  of  the  location  and  of  the  awards  of  damages 
was  rendered  in  October,  1804,  from  which  it  is  seen  that  the  road 
commenced  in  Providence  at  a  point  on  the  Providence  and  Norwich 
Turnpike.  Damages  had  been  awarded  to  twenty-one  owners  with  a 
total  of  twelve  hundred  and  sixty-one  dollars. 

In  1805  an  extension  of  two  years  was  granted  on  the  time  within 
which  the  road  must  be  completed,  as  the  corporation  had  been  unable 
to  finish  within  the  required  limit. 

Proceedings  were  commenced  in  the  next  year,  1806,  for  carrying  the 
turnpike  through  to  a  connection  with  the  Boston  Turnpike  over  which 
connection  with  Hartford  was  to  be  had.  In  that  year  the  Connecticut 
and  Rhode  Island  Turnpike  Company  was  created  by  the  Connecticut 
legislature  to  connect  with  the  Rhode  Island  company's  road  at  the  state 
line,  and  to  build  through  Killingly,  Pomfret,  and  Ashford.  Evidently 
these  two  corporations  were  really  one,  but  the  distinction  between  states 
was  more  sharply  drawn  than  in  the  case  of  the  Providence  and  Boston, 
which  we  have  just  noticed.  It  is  clear  that  both  roads  were  under  one 
management  in  1816,  for  permission  was  then  obtained  to  treat  the  two 
roads  as  one  and  to  locate  a  gate  in  Connecticut  at  which  collections 
would  be  made  for  the  use  of  the  westerly  miles  of  the  Rhode  Island 
road.  The  Connecticut  section  of  the  road  was  made  free  about  1840, 
but  the  remainder  continued  under  the  imposition  of  tolls  for  another 
thirty-one  years. 

The  management  of  this  road  offered  to  sell,  through  the  joint  com- 
mittee of  1 87 1,  all  the  property  and  franchise  of  the  corporation  for 
two  thousand  dollars.  The  road  was  reported  to  be  in  good  condition, 
and  the  gross  receipts  were  stated  to  be  about  twelve  hundred  dollars 
per  annum.  The  report  of  the  turnpike  commissioner,  which  was  made 
to  the  general  assembly  a  year  and  a  half  later,  stated  that  he  had  found 
the  road  very  bad  and  had  ordered  repairs.     But  the  assembly  had 

[295] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

enacted  that  the  road  should  be  free,  and  the  towns  were  then  engaged 
in  the  necessary  work. 

In  May,  1 871,  such  action  had  been  taken  by  the  assembly.  Five 
hundred  dollars  was  awarded  to  the  corporation,  and  one  thousand  to 
be  divided  proportionally  between  the  towns  of  Johnston,  Scituate,  and 
Foster,  provided  the  terms  were  accepted  by  all  interests.  The  terms 
were  accepted  and  the  road  became  free,  but  soon  a  peculiar  fact  was 
brought  to  light.  The  course  of  the  road  across  the  town  of  Foster  had 
borne  a  little  too  far  to  the  north,  and  for  about  a  mile  it  lay  just  over 
the  boundary  line  and  in  the  town  of  Gloucester.  Now  that  town  had 
not  been  consulted,  and  its  citizens  showed  no  avidity  to  take  over  and 
maintain  a  mile  of  road  that  was  hardly  in  the  town  at  all,  so  an  act  was 
passed  in  1875  appropriating  two  hundred  dollars  to  be  paid  to  Glouces- 
ter if  it  would  accept  the  road.  But  the  town  still  held  off  and  in  May 
of  the  same  year  the  two  hundred  dollars  was  raised  to  five  hundred, 
to  which  the  town  agreed. 

This  turnpike  commenced  in  Providence  at  the  present  corner  of 
Hartford  Avenue  and  Plainfield  Street,  the  latter  being  the  old  Provi- 
dence and  Norwich  Turnpike.  Hartford  Avenue  was  the  old  Rhode 
Island  and  Connecticut  Turnpike,  which  crossed  the  town  of  Johnston, 
passing  through  Pocasset  and  Elmdale  in  Scituate,  and  entered  the  town 
of  Killingly,  Connecticut,  about  a  half  mile  south  of  Killingly  Pond. 

"  The  Proprietors  of  the  Greenwich  Turnpike-Road  "  were  incorpo- 
rated at  the  February  session  of  1803  to  build  from 

the  compact  part  of  the  town  of  East  Greenwich,  Westwardly  through  East  Green- 
wich, West  Greenwich,  and  Coventry,  towards  Sterling,  as  far  Westward  as  the 
boundary  line  of  this  state,  upon  the  present  road  leading  from  said  East  Greenwich 
to  Sterling. 

No  other  acts  have  been  found  referring  to  this  proposition,  and 
since  any  business  at  all  seemed  to  require  frequent  calls  upon  the  law- 
makers for  permission  to  do  one  little  thing  or  another,  and  further, 
since  we  can  find  no  road  on  the  map  which  follows  the  route  described 
with  any  appearance  of  turnpike  requirements,  we  are  led  to  believe 
that  this  company  never  fulfilled  its  expectations. 

THE   GLOCESTER   TURNPIKE 

The  first  wagon  which  reached  Providence  from  Connecticut  by  any 
road  north  of  the  Norwich  Post  Road  arrived  in  that  town  in  Septem- 
ber, 1722,  and  so  poor  were  all  the  northern  roads  for  many  years  after, 
that,  it  is  said,  one  traveler  between  Providence  and  Pomfret,  in  1776, 
consumed  two  days  in  covering  the  necessary  thirty-six  miles.  The  route 
followed  was  probably  over  the  old  Killingly  road,  a  part  of  which  we 
have  already  seen  improved  under  the  name  of  West  Glocester  Turn- 
pike. A  farther  section  of  that  road  is  now  in  line  for  development. 
[296] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    RHODE    ISLAND 

"  The  Glocester  Turnpike  Company  in  the  State  of  Rhode  Island 
and  Providence  Plantations,"  was  created  at  the  June  session  of  the 
general  assembly  in  1804,  and  was  given  the  old  road  through  John- 
ston, Smithfield,  and  Gloucester,  ending  at  Chepachet  Bridge,  a  length 
of  seven  miles.  The  corporation  was  to  be  allowed  to  straighten  the 
road,  if  it  could  purchase  the  necessary  land,  but  was  required  to  keep 
the  location  to  the  southwest  of  Chestnut-Oak  Hill. 

This  company  seems  to  have  had  an  uneventful,  although  long  career. 
Unlike  most  of  the  others  it  bothered  the  general  assembly  very  little, 
only  three  acts  being  found  subsequent  to  that  of  incorporation.  Miss 
Perry's  "  History  of  Gloucester  "  notes  the  location  of  the  gate  opposite 
the  tavern  of  Richard  Aldrich  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  town,  although 
she  erroneously  attributes  the  toll  collecting  to  a  turnpike  corporation 
which  did  not  carry  out  its  plans  and  which  was  not  authorized  to  build 
in  that  end  of  Gloucester.  There  was  no  other  turnpike  than  the 
Glocester  which  could  have  had  a  gate  in  that  section.  The  road  evi- 
dently appeared  to  be  prosperous,  for  a  petition  was  made  in  1837  to 
have  the  corporation  accounts  examined  to  see  if  the  collections  had  not 
repaid  the  original  investment  with  interest.  Commencing  in  1839  the 
gate  was  leased  for  a  fixed  price  per  annum,  the  lessee  to  have  the  gross 
collections  for  his  own.  The  committee  of  1870  found  this  practice  in 
force  and  reported  that,  for  the  year  1869,  the  gate  had  been  leased  for 
the  sum  of  thirteen  hundred  dollars,  from  which  the  net  receipts  had  been 
four  hundred. 

The  business  done  in  1869  had  enabled  the  corporation  to  finally 
pay  its  last  debts  and  declare  a  dividend  of  six  per  cent,  which  excellent 
showing  caused  the  stock  to  be  held  at  thirty-five  dollars  a  share.  The 
committee  found  the  road  in  good  condition,  but  the  town  was  averse  to 
assuming  its  maintenance,  which  later  events  make  us  suspect  was  a 
matter  of  business  shrewdness  rather  than  satisfaction  with  turnpike 
conditions.  When  the  town  did  finally  assume  the  care  of  the  three 
roads  within  its  limits,  it  was  paid  a  goodly  sum  by  the  state  for  so 
doing.  The  commissioner,  in  1 871,  deemed  it  necessary  to  order  re- 
pairs to  be  made  on  this  road. 

At  the  May  session  of  1888,  fifteen  hundred  dollars  was  appro- 
priated to  make  the  Glocester  Turnpike  a  free  public  road,  three  hun- 
dred and  seventy-five  going  to  the  town  of  Smithfield  and  eleven  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  to  Gloucester,  the  corporation  getting  nothing. 

The  Glocester  Turnpike  extended  from  the  village  of  Greenville  in 
the  town  of  Smithfield,  northwesterly  through  Harmony,  to  the  east- 
erly end  of  the  West  Glocester  Turnpike  at  Chepachet  Bridge.  Al- 
drich's  Tavern  must  have  been  in  Harmony,  if  Miss  Perry's  story  of  the 
gate  is  well  founded,  for  there  the  sign  giving  rates  of  toll  was  hung. 
The  same  may  be  seen  to-day  in  the  rooms  of  the  Rhode  Island  His- 
torical Society  in  Providence. 

[297] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


THE   RHODE   ISLAND   TURNPIKE 

The  petition  for  a  charter  to  build  this  road  was  entered  with  the 
February  session  of  1804  and  was  followed  by  an  amusing  method  of 
procedure.  At  the  corresponding  session  of  1805  an  act  was  passed 
upon  the  foregoing  petition.  First  it  was  voted  that  a  charter,  as 
prayed  for,  should  be  granted.  The  second  section  provided  for  appeals 
from  any  awards  of  damages  which  might  be  made  under  authority  of 
the  charter  which  was  about  to  be  issued.  The  third  told  the  expected 
corporation  that,  when  it  had  its  charter  it  must  not  lay  out  its  road 
through  any  land  for  which  it  had  not  paid  or  tendered  payment;  and 
the  fourth  provided  that  the  charter  should  be  void  in  two  years  unless 
utilized.     Then,  in  an  entirely  separate  act,  the  charter  was  enacted. 

Authority  was  granted  to  build  a  road  "  in  Portsmouth,  on  the  island 
of  Rhode  Island,"  and  the  route  was  denned  as 

beginning  at  the  fork  of  the  east  and  west  roads  near  Mr.  Job  Durfey's,  and  from 
thence  on  a  southeasterly  course,  until  it  shall  meet  with  the  east  road  near  the 
corner  of  the  orchard  late  belonging  to  Mrs.  Bathsheba  Fish. 

This  corporation  bothered  the  general  assembly  but  little,  but  signs 
of  life  are  visible,  for  it  secured  an  act  in  1840  by  which  its  charter  was 
revived.  From  this  it  is  not  to  be  assumed  that  the  corporation  had 
temporarily  given  up  business,  but  rather  that  some  trifling  formality 
in  the  holding  of  its  annual  meeting  had  been  omitted.  The  corporation 
laws  of  Rhode  Island  were  so  narrow  that  failure  to  hold  an  annual 
meeting  to  elect  officers  has  been  observed,  in  another  case,  as  invalidat- 
ing the  charter.  According  to  the  index  of  special  laws,  William  An- 
thony made  some  petition  regarding  this  road- in  1853,  but  the  matter 
referred  to  could  not  be  found  by  the  pages  indicated.  However,  it 
seems  likely  that  the  road  was  in  operation  at  as  late  a  date  as  that. 

The  Rhode  Island  Turnpike  is  locally  known  as  such  on  the  island 
of  Rhode  Island  to-day  by  the  older  residents,  at  least.  It  commenced 
near  the  Bristol  Ferry  at  the  northerly  end  of  the  island,  where  the  old 
roads,  running  up  the  east  and  west  sides  thereof,  came  together,  and 
from  thence  it  ran  southerly  and  southeasterly,  about  a  mile  and  three 
quarters,  to  a  point  in  the  old  East  Road,  now  called  the  Newtown 
Road,  near  the  present  village  of  Portsmouth. 

This  Bristol  Ferry  was  an  ancient  institution,  being  the  ferry  of  which 
mention  was  made  in  an  earlier  page  in  quoting  an  advertisement  issued 
in  1720.  It  first  appears  in  the  Portsmouth  records  under  date  of 
November  1,  1642,  when  a  ferryman  was  appointed  and  a  "  necke  of 
land  "  was  granted  to  help  him  eke  out  a  living. 


[298] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    RHODE    ISLAND 


THE   DOUGLAS   TURNPIKE 

The  petition  for  this  road  was  made  in  October,  1803,  but  it  was  not 
until  February,  1805,  that  the  charter  was  issued.  The  original  name 
of  the  corporation  was  "  The  Smithfield  Turnpike  Company  "  and  its 
authorized  route  was  "  from  Providence  to  the  line  of  Massachusetts 
in  the  town  of  Douglas  or  Uxbridge."  Construction  evidently  pro- 
ceeded slowly,  as  the  layout  and  award  of  damages  had  not  been  com- 
pleted in  May,  1807.  In  that  month  the  corporation  made  petition  to 
be  allowed  to  build  a  branch  of  its  turnpike 

from  Providence  over  common  land,  by  the  south-west  corner  of  the  North  burying 
ground,  from  thence  north-westerly  nearly  two  miles  till  it  shall  open  into  said 
turnpike-road  as  already  established. 

This  petition  was  granted  at  the  June  session  of  1807  and  the  work 
then  proceeded  promptly.  Clearly  a  better  entrance  into  Providence 
than  that  originally  laid  out  was  needed  to  justify  the  project,  and  the 
branch,  allowed  in  1807,  provided  it.  The  first  layout  began  at  the 
North  Providence  line  near  Orms  Street,  and  was  on  the  back  side  of 
the  old  Cove,  not  at  all  convenient  for  access  from  the  old  compact 
parts  of  Providence. 

At  the  October  session  of  1808  the  name  of  the  company  was 
changed  to  "  The  Providence  and  Douglas  Turnpike  Company,"  and 
another  branch  was  authorized  to  be  built  "  near  the  cotton  factory 
lately  erected  by  Almy  and  Brown  in  Smithfield."  Under  the  name  of 
Smithfield  the  corporation  had  then  opened  its  road  from  Providence 
through  North  Providence,  Smithfield,  and  Burrillville  to  "  the  country 
road  "  in  Douglas,  Massachusetts.  Three  gates  were  allowed,  but  none 
of  them  could  be  placed  on  any  portion  of  an  appropriated  old  road. 

Although  the  road  had  been  completed  and  was  earning  money,  pay- 
ments for  stock  subscriptions  were  slow  in  coming  in,  and  in  May,  18 10, 
authority  was  secured  to  sell  "  at  public  vendue  "  any  shares  for  which 
payment  had  not  been  made. 

Although  permission  to  build  the  branch  in  Smithfield  had  been 
obtained  in  1808,  nothing  was  done  toward  that  end  until  late  in  1820, 
when  the  assembly  appointed  a  committee  to  appraise  the  damages 
consequent  upon  the  layout.  The  branch  was  built  within  the  next  nine- 
teen months  but,  on  account  of  the  long  interval  between  1808  and 
1820,  doubts  were  raised  regarding  the  legality  of  the  proceedings,  and 
legislation  was  sought  to  legalize  what  had  been  done.  Although  the 
layout  of  the  road  was  made  legal  it  does  not  seem  to  have  been  made 
satisfactory,  for  alterations  were  found  necessary  within  three  years. 

In  June,  1839,  it  was  enacted  that  the  gates  might  be  moved  to  any 
location  the  company  desired  provided  ( 1 )  none  were  placed  within  a 
mile  and  a  half  of  the  state  house,  (2)  none  on  any  old  road,  and  (3) 

[299] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

none  within  four  miles  of  another.  Three  whole  or  six  half-gates  were 
allowed  to  be  placed  on  the  main  road  and  one  whole  or  its  equivalent 
in  half-gates  could  bar  travel  on  the  Slater  branch. 

The  main  road  of  this  corporation  commenced  at  the  present  corner 
of  Douglas  Avenue  and  Goddard  Street  in  what  was  then  North  Provi- 
dence, and  ran  thence  northwesterly,  following  the  lines  of  Douglas 
Avenue  and  continuing  in  a  course  easily  picked  out  on  the  map  by  its 
straightness,  through  Smithfield,  North  Smithfield,  and  the  northwest 
corner  of  Burrillville,  to  the  Massachusetts  line  in  Uxbridge,  at  which 
point  it  joined  the  road  of  the  Douglas,  Sutton,  and  Oxford  Turnpike 
Corporation  in  Massachusetts.  The  branch  provided  for  by  the  act  of 
1807  was  the  present  Branch  Avenue  in  Providence,  while  the  branch 
built  in  1820-21  left  the  main  road  at  the  village  of  Smithfield  and  ran 
northerly  through  Primrose  to  Slatersville. 

The  eight  miles  of  the  main  road,  north  of  Smithfield  Village,  was 
turned  over  to  the  public  by  permission  of  the  assembly  in  1845,  the 
remainder  of  the  road  continuing  in  operation  for  another  year.  The 
town  council  of  North  Providence  laid  out  the  turnpike  and  its  branch 
as  public  roads  August  24,  1846. 

A  road  of  earlier  date  traversed  the  country  covered  by  the  lower 
section  of  this  turnpike,  but  the  new  road,  while  it  seems  to  have  been 
superimposed  for  part  of  the  way,  left  the  line  of  the  old  road  for  quite 
a  portion  of  the  distance.  Although  abandoned  many  years  ago,  por- 
tions of  the  embankments  of  the  early  road  still  exist  in  places. 

In  Providence  and  North  Providence  this  road  is  to-day  a  busy  street, 
but  northerly  to  the  Massachusetts  line  it  is  a  sorry  old  road,  except 
when  occasionally  a  state  highway  enters  it  from  the  northeast  and, 
after  following  the  old  turnpike  for  a  short  distance,  bears  off  to  the 
southwest. 

THE   LOISQUISSET   TURNPIKE 

Loisquisset  was  the  old  Indian  name  for  the  region  around  the  vil- 
lage of  Lime  Rock  in  the  present  town  of  Lincoln,  so  it  was  quite  ap- 
propriate that  the  turnpike  which  was  to  serve  that  section  should  bear 
the  name  given  by  the  original  inhabitants.  The  Loisquisset  Turnpike 
Company  was  created  by  the  general  assembly  at  the  October  session 
of  1805,  and  was  allowed  to  take  over  and  improve  the  old  road  from 
"  near  John  Mann's,"  in  Smithfield,  to  the  Providence  line.  Smithfield, 
at  that  date,  comprised  the  whole  region  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Black- 
stone  River,  north  of  North  Providence,  but  the  Loisquisset  was  in  that 
part  which  was  later  set  off  as  the  town  of  Lincoln.  By  some  it  is 
thought  that  this  turnpike  reached  as  far  north  as  Union  Village,  but 
the  fact  that  only  one  full  gate  was  allowed  prevents  our  concluding 
that  a  road  as  long  as  that  was  contemplated.  Rather,  we  think  the 
northerly  termination  was  at  the  village  of  Lime  Rock. 
[300] 


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Terminus  at  Holden  Street,  Providence 
Centerdale,  R.  I. 
West  of  Centerdale 

Plate  LXXIX — Powder  Mill  Turnpike 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    RHODE    ISLAND 

A  petition  to  be  allowed  to  resurvey  the  limits  of  the  road  was  made 
by  the  company  in  1824,  in  consequence  of  which  an  act  was  passed  the 
following  year  permitting  it  to  be  done.  This  proceeding  was  not  as 
trivial  as  appears  at  first  thought,  for  the  committee  appointed  to  super- 
vise the  work  also  had  authority  to  make  alterations  and  new  locations 
in  the  road. 

It  seems  that  this  road  bore  a  heavy  traffic  in  lime  from  the  quarries 
and  kilns  at  Lime  Rock,  which  was  formerly  the  center  of  a  thriving 
industry.  In  1830  the  corporation  was  allowed  to  impose  extra  tolls 
on  loads  of  lime  exceeding  a  specified  weight. 

The  joint  committee  of  1870  found  this  road  in  operation  and  re- 
ported that  it  could  be  bought  for  one  thousand  dollars,  adding  that 
negotiations  were  then  under  way  between  the  corporation  and  the  town 
of  North  Providence  for  the  public  opening  of  the  turnpike.  In  con- 
sequence thereof  the  corporation  conveyed  its  road  to  the  town  of  North 
Providence  on  the  twenty-ninth  of  June,  1870,  the  town  having  previ- 
ously voted  to  accept  it  if  offered. 

The  old  turnpike  commenced  at  what  was  then  the  town  limit  of 
Providence,  on  the  present  Charles  Street,  near  the  corner  of  West 
River  Street,  and  followed  northerly  along  the  Charles  Street  of  to-day, 
and  over  the  continuation  thereof,  through  North  Providence  and  Lin- 
coln to  Lime  Rock. 

JOHN   AND   PHILIP   BROWNS'   ROAD 

Another  stupendous  name  was  given  to  a  corporation  at  the  October 
session  of  1806,  when  "  The  John  and  Philip  Browns'  Road  Company, 
from  Massachusetts  line,  in  Glocester,  southeasterly  to  the  house  of 
Nathan  Williams,  passing  by  the  store  of  Captain  William  Rhodes," 
was  created.  Strange  to  say  the  names  of  John  and  Philip  Brown  are 
not  to  be  found  among  the  incorporators  of  this  company,  and  we  are  left 
to  wonder  why  they  were  so  prominently  mentioned.  The  petition,  filed 
a  year  earlier,  gives  the  further  information  that  the  road  was  proposed 
to  start  at  Allum  Pond  Hill  (now  Wallum),  and  was  to  be  six  miles 
long. 

No  further  legislation  appears  in  connection  with  this  company  and 
no  road  is  seen  on  the  map  which  is  suggestive  of  being  the  result  of 
this  company's  efforts.  Since  another  company,  three  years  later,  sought 
unsuccessfully  to  obtain  a  charter  covering  the  same  route,  we  feel  con- 
vinced that  nothing  was  done  under  this  franchise.  One  local  history 
has  much  to  tell  about  Captain  William  Rhodes,  his  store,  and  many  of 
those  named  in  the  act  of  incorporation,  but  not  a  word  about  "  The 
John  and  Philip  Browns'  Road  Company,  from  Massachusetts  line,  in 
Glocester,  southeasterly  to  the  house  of  Nathan  Williams,  passing  by 
the  store  of  Captain  William  Rhodes." 

In  the  Massachusetts  act  which  incorporated  the  Brookfield  and 

[301] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


Charlton  Turnpike  Corporation,  the  John  and  Philip  Browns'  Road  is 
mentioned  in  a  manner  which  seems  to  indicate  that  the  road  had  been 
built,  but  we  have  observed  in  other  acts  a  certain  confidence  in  all 
schemes  being  carried  out,  hence  we  still  feel  that  the  Rhode  Island 
road  was  not  built.  But  the  Massachusetts  act  gives  us  one  interesting 
point,  —  Philip  Brown's  house  was  in  Massachusetts,  in  Oxford,  South 
Gore. 

PROVIDENCE   AND   PAWTUCKET   TURNPIKE 
CORPORATION 

The  road  of  this  corporation  served  as  an  important  link  in  a  busy 
line  of  travel,  and  it  is  to-day  an  interurban  avenue  teeming  with  traffic. 
North  Main  Street,  from  the  southerly  end  of  the  North  Burying 
Ground  in  Providence,  and  Pawtucket  Avenue  in  Pawtucket,  date  from 
the  opening  of  this  road. 

The  petition  for  incorporation  was  entered  at  the  October  session 
of  1806,  and  a  committee  was  at  once  appointed  to  view  the  route. 
Most  expeditiously  did  the  committee  work,  for  its  report  was  made  in 
a  very  few  days,  and  then  the  whole  matter  was  referred  to  the  next 
session,  with  an  order  for  a  public  advertisement. 

In  1807,  at  the  June  session,  the  act  of  incorporation  was  passed, 
giving  a  franchise  from 

the  north  line  of  the  town  of  Providence,  near  the  dwelling-house  of  the  late  Jere- 
miah Dexter,  and  run  from  thence  northerly,  on  the  east  side  of  the  old  road,  and 
passing  by  the  westerly  end  of  Jeremiah  Sayles'  dwelling-house,  extend  to  such  part 
of  Pawtucket  village  as  the  committee  hereinafter  named  shall  direct. 

The  road  was  to  be  three  rods  in  width,  and  it  is  interesting  to  note 
that,  while  originally  the  entire  length  was  in  the  town  of  North  Provi- 
dence, the  nearest  point  in  that  town  to-day  is  nearly  a  mile  from  the 
road. 

This  corporation  does  not  appear  very  frequently  on  the  legislative 
records,  only  four  acts  being  passed  in  relation  to  it  during  its  twenty- 
six  years  of  corporate  life,  two  of  these  being  for  the  purpose  of  deter- 
mining if  the  state  would  be  justified  in  taking  the  road,  on  account 
of  sufficiency  in  its  earnings. 

In  consequence  of  the  two  acts  just  mentioned,  another  act  was  passed 
at  the  June  session  in  1833,  by  which  the  state  asserted  its  rights,  ap- 
pointed a  committee  to  take  possession  of  the  road  and  all  the  corpora- 
tion's property,  and  to  operate  the  same  in  behalf  of  the  state.  The 
committee  was  instructed  at  the  same  time  to  offer  the  turnpike  to  the 
Boston  and  Providence  Railroad  Company,  which  was  then  in  the 
process  of  formation,  which  is  interesting  as  showing  the  transition 
from  turnpike  to  railroad,  and  how  people  generally  regarded  the  rail- 
road as  merely  an  improved  form  of  turnpike.  But  the  railroad  people 
fought  shy  of  the  alluring  morsel,  as  we  learn  from  the  committee's 
[302] 


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THE   TURNPIKES    OF    RHODE    ISLAND 

report  in  1834,  giving  noncommittal  replies  to  two  propositions  from 
the  state's  representatives,  after  which  the  committee  gave  it  up,  as- 
sumed the  management  of  the  road,  and  appointed  Thomas  Burgess 
as  the  agent  of  the  state.  A  certain  history  asserts  that  the  purchase 
of  this  turnpike  by  the  railroad  company  was  contemplated  in  the  origi- 
nal charter  of  the  railroad  but,  if  so,  the  compiler  of  Rhode  Island's 
special  laws  failed  to  include  such  section  in  the  published  records. 

While,  as  corporation  property,  the  road  made  little  legislative  fuss, 
as  a  state  turnpike  it  required  thirty-nine  separate  acts  of  the  general 
assembly  during  its  thirty-six  years  under  state  control. 

In  1 841  it  was  enacted  that  the  turnpike  should  be  extended  to  the 
Massachusetts  line,  thus  including  what  is  now  Pleasant  Street  and  a 
portion  of  Main  Street,  in  the  heart  of  Pawtucket,  with  the  Pawtucket 
Bridge,  within  the  limits  liable  to  toll. 

The  Massachusetts  line  was  a  sore  subject  between  the  two  states, 
as  it  had  been  a  matter  of  controversy  since  the  charter  granted  to 
Rhode  Island  by  Charles  II  in  1663.  Under  its  charter  granted  in  1629 
Plymouth  Colony  seemed  to  be  entitled  to  the  territory  as  far  west  as 
the  center  of  the  Narraganset,  Seekonk,  Pawtucket,  and  Blackstone 
rivers  up  to  the  present  south  line  of  the  state  of  Massachusetts,  but 
the  charter  granted  by  Charles  II  was  so  vaguely  worded  that  the 
Rhode  Islanders  were  able  to  put  a  far  different  interpretation  upon  it. 
According  to  their  version,  their  easterly  boundary  ran  due  north  from 
the  ocean  to  a  point  in  the  present  town  of  Lakeville,  three  English  miles 
east-northeast  from  the  head  of  Assonet  Bay  in  the  town  of  Freetown; 
thence  in  a  straight  line  to  Fox  Point  at  the  mouth  of  the  Seekonk  River; 
thence  northerly  along  the  easterly  bank  of  that  river  to  Pawtucket 
Falls,  and  thence  due  north  to  the  present  northeast  corner  of  the  state. 
With  such  a  large  area  in  dispute  the  parties  could  not  come  to  an  agree- 
ment and  the  matter  was  made  the  subject  of  an  appeal  to  the  Crown. 

The  commissioners  appointed  to  adjust  the  matter  made  their  find- 
ing known  in  1741  and,  while  bringing  the  extreme  eastern  line  much 
farther  to  the  west,  still  upheld  Rhode  Island's  contention  that  the  line 
followed  the  easterly  bank  of  the  Seekonk  River  as  far  north  as  Paw- 
tucket Falls.  This  decision,  which  was  confirmed  by  the  Crown  in  1746, 
remained  in  force,  although  the  subject  of  much  contention  between  the 
states,  until  the  present  boundary  was  established  by  the  decree  of  the 
supreme  court  of  the  United  States  in  1861.  This  boundary  question 
has  been  treated  in  greater  detail  on  account  of  several  turnpikes  and 
bridges  falling  within  the  disputed  area.  Of  these  Pawtucket  Bridge 
was  one. 

The  first  bridge  was  erected  at  the  joint  expense  of  the  two  colonies 
in  1 7 13,  and  was  demolished  by  legislative  order  in  1730,  after  which 
it  was  renewed  again  jointly.  Down  to  this  time  Massachusetts  had 
asserted  her  claim  to  the  center  of  the  river  and,  therefore,  was  willing 
to  assume  one  half  of  the  cost  of  bridging  the  same,  but  after  the  find- 

[303  J 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

ing  of  the  commissioners  in  1741,  she  was  obliged  to  accept  the  easterly 
bank  as  the  line,  and  when  further  repairs  became  necessary  in  1772, 
the  Bay  Colony  declined  to  share  the  cost  of  the  bridge  and  only  paid 
for  the  repairs  on  the  eastern  abutment.  Hence  the  authority  of  the 
Rhode  Island  assembly  to  include  the  ancient  bridge  site  within  the 
turnpike  limits. 

The  turnpike  agent's  report  for  1843  shows  a  regard  for  the  aesthetic 
and  practical  value  of  trees,  for  he  reported  that  shade  and  ornamental 
trees  had  been  grown  along  almost  the  entire  road.  In  seeking  a  supply 
of  gravel  he  had  contracted  with  the  town  of  North  Providence  to 
obtain  that  material  by  making  the  excavation  for  a  desired  street, 
agreeing  to  complete  the  work  in  four  years.  In  the  year  and  a  half 
during  which  the  arrangement  had  been  in  operation,  the  gravel  thus 
obtained  had  cost  the  state  two  hundred  and  thirty  dollars.  The  exten- 
sion to  the  Massachusetts  line  had  cost  a  large  sum,  including,  as  it 
did,  "  two  of  the  principal  streets  and  the  bridge  in  Pawtucket."  The 
bridge  had  been  rebuilt  and  the  streets  put  in  proper  condition. 

Much  trouble  arose  about  1848  over  encroachments  which  abutting 
owners  had  made  upon  the  turnpike  right  of  way,  and  a  committee 
appointed  to  deal  with  such  cases  compiled  a  list  of  twenty  such  offenses 
and  notified  each  offender  to  move  off.  Two  sets  of  cellar  steps  seem 
to  have  given  the  most  trouble,  and  the  attorney  general  was  instructed 
to  institute  proceedings  against  those  responsible  for  them,  but  one 
set  was  finally  allowed  to  remain  after  the  owner  had  inclosed  them  with 
an  iron  railing. 

The  march  of  progress  is  seen  in  the  history  of  this  road,  for  when 
gas  was  introduced  into  Pawtucket  in  1848,  permission  was  given  to  lay 
pipes  along  the  turnpike,  and  the  agent  was  authorized  to  erect  eight 
lanterns,   using  the  new  illuminant   along  the   road. 

In  1849  the  salary  of  the  agent  was  substantially  increased,  being 
raised  from  fifty  to  seventy-five  dollars  per  annnum.  How  often  it  is 
seen  that  prosperity  ruins  a  good  man;  the  next  year  we  see  the  final 
settlement  with  Thomas  Burgess,  "  late  agent." 

A  new  tollhouse  was  provided  for  in  an  act  of  June,  1853.  It  was 
to  be  erected  on  the  site  of  the  old  one  and  was  not  to  cost  in  excess  of 
one  thousand  dollars.  The  location  of  this  house  and  the  gate  was 
opposite  the  present  location  of  Pidge  Avenue,  where  the  old  road  to 
Pawtucket,  now  known  as  Main  Street,  branched  off. 

In  1857  Pawtucket  Bridge  demanded  further  attention.  The  agent 
in  that  year  reported  that  the  bridge  was  then  fourteen  years  old  and 
that  many  of  its  timbers  were  in  so  decayed  a  condition  as  to  be  unsafe. 
He  was  much  worried  because  the  bridge  was  high  above  the  rocks  and, 
if  the  under  part  should  give  way,  "  the  whole  structure  would  fall  with 
fearful  ruin." 

July  6,  1858,  the  old  bridge  was  closed  and  at  once  demolished. 
Timber  bridges  had  been  found  so  short-lived  that  the  opinion  was 

[304] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    RHODE    ISLAND 

•general  that  some  more  substantial  form  of  construction  should  be  used, 
and  the  present  stone  arch  bridge  was  commenced  immediately,  and 
opened  for  public  travel  on  the  fourth  of  November  following. 

In  the  days  of  the  Indians  the  remains  of  an  old  channel  of  the  river 
existed  on  the  westerly  bank,  extending  from  above  the  falls  around  the 
same,  and  into  the  river  again  a  short  distance  below.  In  the  effort  to 
provide  the  towns  on  the  Blackstone  River  with  an  annual  supply  of 
herring  and  such  other  fish  as  seek  the  sources  of  our  rivers,  this  old 
channel  was  deepened,  in  17 14,  to  provide  a  runway  through  which  the 
fish  might  pass  around  the  falls.  After  the  construction  of  the  first  dam, 
in  17 1 8,  which  was  built  just  below  the  point  where  the  old  channel  left 
the  river,  the  advantages  of  the  fishway  for  the  utilization  of  power 
were  soon  observed,  and  in  1730  a  dam  was  thrown  across  its  lower  end 
and  an  anchor  mill  established,  to  be  followed  by  several  other  indus- 
tries, all  driven  by  the  water  power  from  this  old  fishway.  By  1790  a 
hive  of  industry  was  located  on  the  bank  and  we  find  the  old  run  known 
by  the  name  of  "  Sergeant's  Trench."  1  In  its  course  of  but  a  few  rods 
it  passed  the  westerly  end  of  the  Pawtucket  Bridge,  and  hence  the  road 
approaching  the  bridge  had  to  pass  over  it.  In  1854  we  find  the  trench 
occupying  the  attention  of  the  general  assembly  in  connection  with  the 
Providence  and  Pawtucket  Turnpike,  and  an  appropriation  was  voted 
for  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars  to  be  used  in  repairing  the  trench 
under  the  turnpike,  if  the  mill  owners  would  contribute  an  equal  amount. 
But  the  mill  men  held  off  and  petitioned  the  assembly,  at  its  June  ses- 
sion in  the  same  year,  to  bear  the  whole  expense,  now  increased  to  six 
hundred  dollars,  which  the  assembly  graciously  consented  to  do. 

A  diligence  running  between  Pawtucket  and  Providence  was  estab- 
lished by  Horace  Field  about  1823,  Goodrich  tells  us,  and  was  sold  to 
Simon  H.  Arnold  in  December,  1825.  Arnold  at  once  issued  the  usual 
form  of  announcement,  notifying  the  public  that  the  round  trip  would 
be  made  twice  each  day,  leaving  Pawtucket  at  nine  and  two  o'clock,  and 
Providence  at  twelve  and  four.  Commencing  in  1836  Wetherell  and 
Bennett  ran  an  omnibus  line  for  eighteen  years,  selling  out  to  Sterry  Fry, 
who  operated  the  same  until  the  advent  of  the  horse  cars. 

The  death  knell  of  the  turnpike  was  sounded  October  25,  1847,  on 
which  day  the  Providence  and  Worcester  Railroad  was  opened.  The 
convenience  of  this  route  and  the  low  fares  which  were  offered  gave  it 
a  monopoly  of  the  travel  between  the  neighboring  cities,  and  the  turn- 
pike earnings  soon  became  too  small  for  profit. 

The  march  of  progress  again  appears  in  1863,  this  time  in  the  shape 
of  one  of  the  agencies  which  were  working  the  turnpikes  into  the  past. 
The  Providence,  Pawtucket,  and  Central  Falls  Street  Railway  Company 
was  then  projecting  a  horse  railway  to  connect  those  cities,  and  in  the 
year  named  was  granted  permission  to  lay  its  tracks  "  over  and  along 
the  whole  or  any  part  of  "  the  state's  turnpike.     Specified  payments  were 

1  "Historical  Sketch  of  Pawtucket,"  Goodrich. 

[305] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

to  be  made  for  this  privilege  and,  for  the  next  six  years  travelers  on  the 
horse  cars  had  the  novel  experience  of  passing  through  a  tollgate. 

The  general  assembly,  at  its  January  session  in  1869,  instructed  the 
general  treasurer  to  quitclaim  the  state's  interest  in  the  road  to  Provi- 
dence, North  Providence,  and  Pawtucket.  The  agent  was  instructed  to 
spend  no  more  money  on  the  road  unless  absolutely  necessary,  and  to 
throw  the  gate  open  forever  when  properly  notified.  The  road  became 
free  on  April  24,  1869,  on  which  occasion  the  Tower  Light  Battery  fired 
a  salute  of  twenty-five  guns,  while  a  general  celebration  was  being  held 
at  the  tollhouse.1 

The  Pawtucket  and  Providence  was  by  far  the  most  remunerative 
turnpike  which  has  come  under  our  observation.  Reports  of  the  busi- 
ness done  may  be  seen  in  the  Rhode  Island  State  Library,  and  show 
through  the  period  of  the  state's  control  to  about  1847  that  the  earnings 
ran  at  an  average  of  nearly  eighteen  hundred  dollars  a  mile  per  year, 
while  the  net  receipts  paid  to  the  general  treasurer  held  close  to  twenty- 
five  hundred  dollars  a  year. 

The  road  formed  the  Rhode  Island  continuation  of  the  Norfolk  and 
Bristol  Turnpike  in  Massachusetts,  and  over  it  passed  the  extensive 
traffic  between  Boston  and  Providence,  including  that  between  the  first- 
named  city  and  New  York. 


WICKFORD   TURNPIKE   COMPANY 

This  corporation  was  created  at  the  October  session  of  1807  and  its 
chartered  route  was  described  as 

the  road  reported  at  the  May  session  by  Messrs.  Potter,  Reynolds  and  Anthony,  a 
committee  for  that  purpose. 

Were  this  all  the  information  available,  we  should  be  at  a  loss  as  to 
where  this  company  proposed  to  build,  but  in  the  preamble  of  the  act 
we  read  that  it  intended  to  construct 

from  the  village  of  Wickford,  in  North  Kingston,  in  this  state,  to  the  state  of  Con- 
necticut, at  the  south  end  of  Beach  Pond. 

The  old  road  which  this  corporation  sought  to  appropriate  is  shown 
on  the  maps  of  to-day  and  is  of  ancient  lineage.  Formerly  it  was  called 
the  "  Ten  Rod  Road  "  on  account  of  the  excessive  width  which  was  given 
it  to  provide  public  pasturage  for  the  droves  of  cattle  driven,  for  ship- 
ment abroad,  from  Connecticut  to  Wickford. 

Although  the  corporation  proceeded  rapidly  with  its  preliminaries, 
having  its  layout  made  before  its  act  of  incorporation  was  passed,  it 
does  not  seem  to  have  ever  done  any  business.  In  1823  the  charter  was 
revived,  and  again  in  1829,  as  the  company  had  not  met  to  organize. 

Fuller  recites  in  his  "  History  of  Warwick  "  that  that  town  voted, 

1  Grieve's  "History  of  Pawtucket." 
[306] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   RHODE    ISLAND 

in  1805,  to  instruct  its  representative  to  vote  against  the  erection  of  any 
turnpike  gate  in  Kent  County  "  to  the  injury  of  the  inhabitants  of  said 
county,"  which  incident  may  account  for  the  failure  to  build  this  road. 
Although  the  representative  did  not  succeed  in  preventing  the  authoriza- 
tion of  a  gate  two  years  later,  the  popular  wish,  thus  expressed,  may 
have  been  sufficient  to  prevent  the  utilization  of  the  charter. 

THE   FARNUM   ROAD 

At  the  February  session  of  1808  the  Farnum  and  Providence  Turn- 
pike Company  was  created  for  the  purpose  of  building  a  road  from 
"  Tripptown,"  in  North  Providence,  to  Appleby's  Road  in  Smithfield. 
Evidently  the  route  thus  specified  was  not  enough  to  encourage  the 
prosecution  of  the  work,  for  the  company  petitioned  the  next  year  to 
be  allowed  to  extend  its  road  northeasterly  to  the  line  of  the  state  of 
Massachusetts  near  Allum  Pond,  meanwhile  delaying  the  construction 
of  its  main  line  of  road.  The  petition  was  not  granted,  and  it  was  re- 
newed in  181 1  and  again  in  18 12,  after  which  the  project  of  the  exten- 
sion seems  to  have  been  abandoned  by  the  promoters  of  this  enterprise, 
and  the  corporation  proceeded  with  the  road  which  was  allowed  it. 

The  report  of  the  locating  committee  was  rendered  in  October,  18 12. 
One  full  gate  or  two  half  ones  was  the  allowance  for  this  road,  and  the 
committee  decreed  that  one  should  be  placed  near  the  powder  mill,  and 
if  that  was  a  half-gate,  the  other  should  be  erected  "  north  of  the  old 
road  over  Wolf  Hill." 

Work  then  proceeded,  but  at  the  end  of  seven  years  the  road  was 
uncompleted  and  the  corporation  was  in  financial  difficulties.  In  con- 
sequence of  an  execution  issued  against  the  company  the  property  was 
sold  at  auction,  and  was  bought  by  Stephen  and  Elisha  Steere.  At  the 
June  session  in  18 19  those  men  obtained  a  renewal  of  the  charter  in  their 
own  behalf,  with  authority  to  finish  the  road.  The  Powder  Mill  Turn- 
pike, which  had  been  incorporated  after  the  one  under  present  consid- 
eration, had  been  constructed  in  the  meantime,  and  that  road  was 
now  made  the  southerly  termination  of  the  Farnum  and  Providence. 
The  road  was  then  completed  as  originally  proposed  north  of  the 
Powder  Mill  Turnpike,  and  became  one  of  the  successful  and  long-lived 
Rhode  Island  turnpikes.  A  revision  of  the  charter  was  secured  in 
1828  whereby  the  privileges  accorded  to  the  later  companies  were 
bestowed  on  this  one. 

The  joint  committee  of  1870  found  the  officials  of  this  company  an 
uncommunicative  lot,  and  reported  that  it  had  been  able  to  learn  noth- 
ing of  the  road's  affairs.  So  the  report  merely  stated  that  the  road 
extended  from  Centerdale  to  Smithfield,  and  was  five  miles  long,  which 
brought  the  northerly  end  to  the  present  village  of  Smithfield.  But 
the  turnpike  commissioner,  according  to  his  report  in  1872,  found  only 
four  miles  of  road. 

[307] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF   NEW    ENGLAND 

The  Farnum  and  Providence  Turnpike  was  made  free  by  act  of  the 
general  assembly  at  the  January  session  in  1873.  Five  hundred  dol- 
lars was  then  appropriated  to  compensate  the  corporation. 

The  southerly  end  of  the  old  turnpike  in  Centerdale  is  known  to-day 
as  Waterman  Avenue. 


THE    POWDER   MILL   TURNPIKE 

The  petition  for  a  charter  for  this  utility  was  first  made  in  1807  and 
was  renewed  in  1808  and  1809.  The  prayer  was  finally  granted  by  the 
general  assembly  of  February,  18 10,  which  created  the  Powder  Mill 
Turnpike  Corporation  and  allowed  it  to  build  a  three-rod  road  which 
was  to 

begin  at  Sprague's  tavern  (formerly  owned  by  the  widow  Waterman)  at  the  south- 
easterly end  of  the  Glocester  turnpike-road  in  Smithfield ;  from  thence  eastwardly 
until  it  reaches  the  westerly  line  of  the  town  of  Providence  on  the  plain  near  Fenner 
Angell's. 

By  the  construction  of  this  turnpike  improved  roads  were  provided 
all  the  way  from  Providence  to  the  state  line,  on  the  way  to  Putnam, 
and  over  the  route  thus  provided  a  daily  stage  between  Providence  and 
Pomfret  struggled  along  for  many  years. 

The  road  was  completed  and  opened  for  travelers  in  18 15,  according 
to  Angell  in  his  "  Annals  of  Centerdale."  Two  gates  were  established, 
one  at  the  present  corner  of  Smith  Street  and  Fruit  Hill  Avenue,  and 
the  other  at  the  corner  of  the  road  to  Spragueville,  about  halfway  be- 
tween Centerdale  and  Greenville,  where  George  Mowry  once  kept  a 
tavern.  The  southerly  end  of  the  turnpike  was  near  the  corner  of  Smith 
and  Holden  streets,  well  within  the  present  limits  of  Providence,  and 
almost  under  the  shadow  of  the  state  capitol.  The  road  through  Provi- 
dence and  North  Providence  is  now  called  Smith  Street,  which  name 
was  applied  to  it  in  1874.  Beyond  North  Providence  it  is  still  known 
as  the  "  Powder  Mill  Pike,"  and  has  been  improved  of  late  years  with 
the  help  of  the  state  until  it  is  now  a  fine  stretch  of  road.  The  Chepachet 
line  of  the  Providence  Street  Railway  system  follows  the  old  turnpike 
for  its  entire  length. 

In  1 8 16  permission  was  granted  to  move  the  gate  but  not  toward 
Providence.  If  it  was  located  on  any  portion  of  an  old  road  anyone  was 
to  be  allowed  to  pass  free  upon  declaring  that  no  portion  of  his  journey 
had  been,  or  was  to  be,  made  on  any  part  of  the  road  which  the  corpo- 
ration had  built.  In  1829  an  excess  toll  of  a  half-cent  per  hundred- 
weight was  allowed  on  loads  exceeding  five  thousand  pounds,  if  the 
vehicle  was  furnished  with  tires  less  than  five  inches  in  width. 

The  Powder  Mill  is  mentioned  by  the  joint  committee  and  by  the 
turnpike  commissioner  in  the  respective  reports,  but  no  detailed  state- 
ment is  made  by  either. 
[308] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    RHODE    ISLAND 

The  road  was  made  free  by  act  of  the  general  assembly  at  the 
January  session  of  1873,  one  thousand  dollars  being  appropriated  and 
paid  to  the  corporation.  March  3,  1873,  the  town  council  of  North 
Providence  voted  to  accept  the  turnpike  within  the  town  limits  "  under 
the  terms  and  conditions  fixed  by  the  general  assembly  "  at  its  January 
session. 

THE   WOONASQUATUCKET   TURNPIKE 

Atwells  Avenue,  in  Providence,  is  of  mongrel  birth,  originally  being 
both  turnpike  and  public  road.  About  1809  the  Providence  town  coun- 
cil laid  out  and  built  a  four-rod  road  extending  from  Aborn  Street 
almost  due  west  to  the  Woonasquatucket  River,  which  then  formed  the 
westerly  limit  of  the  town.  At  the  February  session  in  18 10  the 
Woonasquatucket  Turnpike  Corporation  was  created,  with  authority 
to  continue  that  road  northwesterly  "  till  it  shall  come  to  the  road  lead- 
ing from  Tar  Bridge  to  the  village  of  Tripptown."  Tar  Bridge,  we 
have  already  seen,  was  the  bridge  which  carried  the  street,  leading 
northerly  from  Olneyville  Square  over  the  river  of  the  long  name. 
Tripptown  was  the  old  name  given  to  the  modern  village  of  Manton, 
and  the  road  recited  as  the  northwesterly  terminus  of  the  new  turnpike 
is  now  known  as  Manton  Avenue. 

Financing  the  enterprise  must  have  been  difficult,  for  in  18 12  per- 
mission was  obtained  to  levy  an  assessment,  not  exceeding  five  dollars, 
on  each  share  of  stock.  Instances  of  the  fussiness  of  the  Rhode  Island 
laws  are  found  in  18 14  and  1815,  in  each  of  which  years  the  corpora- 
tion had  to  appeal  to  the  general  assembly  for  a  renewal  of  its  charter. 
The  first  time  the  franchise  had  been  invalidated  because  the  corpora- 
tion had  failed  to  elect  its  officers  for  the  ensuing  year.  No  provision 
existed  that  officers  should  hold  office  until  their  successors  were  quali- 
fied, consequently  the  company  found  itself  without  any  official  heads, 
and  no  business  could  be  done.  The  second  time  the  difficulty  arose 
from  the  failure  to  hold  the  annual  meeting.  As  the  company  secured 
authority  again  in  1815  to  levy  an  assessment  on  the  shares,  we  may 
imagine  that  the  trouble  was  due  to  lack  of  enthusiasm,  and  that  the 
building  of  the  road  was  a  slow  process.  But  it  was  finally  completed 
and  operated  for  probably  thirty-five  years. 

A  petition  having  reference  to  this  turnpike  was  entered  at  the  state 
house  by  Andrew  Williams  in  1852,  but  no  action  has  been  found  in 
consequence  of  it.  It  is  easy  to  see,  however,  that  it  had  for  its  object 
the  freeing  of  the  road,  and  that  action  was  rendered  unnecessary  by 
the  action  of  the  town. 

In  1854  the  town  of  North  Providence  took  over  the  turnpike,  mak- 
ing it  a  part  of  the  public  system,  and  by  the  annexation  of  1874,  the 
whole  length  of  the  old  toll  road  was  included  within  the  city  of  Provi- 
dence.   The  plan  prepared  at  the  time  the  road  was  surrendered  to  the 

[309] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

town  shows  the  tollgate  at  the  corner  of  Valley  Street  with  the  toll 
gatherer's  house  on  the  northeasterly  corner.  Atwells  Avenue,  from 
the  Woonasquatucket  River  to  the  junction  with  Manton  Avenue,  was 
the  Woonasquatucket  Turnpike. 

THE   VALLEY   FALLS   TURNPIKE 

This  road  was  the  beginning  of  the  present  Broad  Street  in  Paw- 
tucket  and  Central  Falls.  It  was  first  built  by  the  Valley  Falls  Turnpike 
Company,  under  a  charter  granted  in  February,  1813,  by  which  author- 
ity was  conferred  to  build  from  the  northwesterly  part  of  Pawtucket 
on  the  old  road  from  Pawtucket  Bridge  to  Providence,  "  northerly 
crossing  the  new  bridge,  now  building  at  the  valley  falls,  across  Black- 
stone  River,"  and  on  to  an  intersection  with  the  Diamond  Hill  or  Old 
Mendon  Road.  According  to  Grieve  in  his  "  History  of  Pawtucket," 
the  northerly  terminus  was  at  the  crossroads  at  the  Catholic  Oak  in 
Lonsdale. 

The  road  was  built  by  Isaac  Wilkinson,  the  son  of  the  Oziel  Wilkin- 
son who  was  so  prominent  in  the  construction  of  the  Norfolk  and  Bris- 
tol Turnpike.  This  family,  in  addition  to  being  among  the  pioneers 
of  Pawtucket's  manufacturers,  was  prominent  in  several  of  the  turnpike 
developments  in  their  neighborhood. 

In  1842  the  corporation  made  petition  for  the  privilege  of  having  its 
turnpike  resurveyed,  but  a  counter-petition  was  made  by  certain  citizens 
who  alleged  that  the  charter  had  been  forfeited,  and  secured  the  ap- 
pointment of  a  committee  to  investigate  their  charges.  Curiously 
enough  the  same  committee  was  authorized  to  make  the  asked-for  sur- 
vey. The  committee  reported  in  January,  1843,  giving  the  details  of 
the  new  lines  which  had  been  determined  as  the  boundaries  of  the  road, 
and  the  assembly  enacted  that  "  said  turnpike  be,  and  the  same  is 
hereby,  established  and  confirmed  "  as  reported,  which  plainly  enough 
disposed  of  the  petition  for  annulment  of  the  charter. 

The  turnpike  was  laid  out,  under  the  name  of  Broad  Street,  by  the 
town  of  North  Providence  in  1864. 

THE   COVENTRY  AND   CRANSTON   TURNPIKE 

The  hustling  little  group  of  factory  villages  along  the  boundary  line 
between  Coventry  and  Warwick  were  fairly  well  supplied  with  trans- 
portation over  the  river  roads,  except  the  ones  called  Anthony  and 
Washington  in  the  eastern  part  of  Coventry.  Being  located  well  up  the 
south  branch  of  the  Pawtuxet,  and  around  a  long  bend  in  the  same,  the 
mill  owners  of  those  places  found  themselves  at  a  decided  disadvantage 
when  it  came  to  shipping  their  goods. 

An  early  road  had  been  built  by  the  colony  in  1737,  which  came  over 
Natick  Hill,  passing  Edmond's  gristmill,  which  has  given  way  to  the 
[310] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    RHODE    ISLAND 

Lippitt  Mills,  and  up  the  river  valley  to  the  southeast  corner  of  the 
town  of  Scituate;  and  this  road,  while  offering  no  service  to  Anthony 
and  Washington,  was  all  that  the  needs  of  the  other  villages  seemed  to 
require  until  about  1810.  Until  then  the  villages  on  the  upper  river 
had  been  obliged  to  reach  Providence  by  an  old  road  through  Apponaug. 

In  181 1  the  mill  owners  of  Washington  and  Anthony  joined  with  the 
proprietors  of  the  Roger  Williams  and  the  Lippitt  mills,  in  a  petition 
to  the  general  assembly  for  a  new  and  direct  road,  connecting  all  those 
manufacturing  villages.  At  the  February  session,  18 12,  a  road  as  de- 
sired was  laid  out  and  established  by  the  assembly,  but  it  was  required 
that  the  petitioners  should  construct  the  same  at  their  own  expense, 
which  did  not  appeal  to  the  mill  men  as  attractive,  without  the  privilege 
of  collecting  tolls.    So  they  next  asked  for  a  turnpike  charter. 

So  the  Coventry  and  Cranston  Turnpike  Company  was  formed  in 
February,  18 13,  with  a  franchise 

from  the  factory  of  the  Coventry  Manufacturing  Company,  by  the  Lippitt  and 
Roger  Williams  Manufacturing  Companies'  factories,  towards  Monkeytown  and 
Providence. 

The  mill  of  the  Coventry  Manufacturing  Company  was  located  in 
Anthony,  and  was  one  of  the  first  cotton  mills  in  the  state,  having  been 
built  in  1805-06,  and  substantially  enlarged  in  18 10.  The  Lippitt  fac- 
tory was  located  in  the  village  to  which  it  gave  its  name,  and  the  Roger 
Williams  gave  employment  to  the  men  of  the  village  later  called  Phenix. 
In  the  month  of  May,  1821,  fire  laid  the  Roger1  Williams  factory  low, 
and  another  building  promptly  rising,  as  from  the  ashes,  recalled  the 
mythical  bird  and  named  the  place. 

From  Fuller's  "  History  of  Warwick  "  we  learn  that  the  turnpike 
was  three  miles,  one  hundred  and  three  rods,  and  twenty-two  links  in 
length,  reaching  from  Anthony,  through  Phenix  and  Lippitt,  to  an 
already  existing  highway  in  the  southerly  part  of  Cranston. 

The  location  of  the  road  must  have  been  a  difficult  matter,  for  the 
corporation  returned  to  the  general  assembly  three  months  after  re- 
ceiving its  charter  to  ask  permission  to  make  alterations  in  its  prescribed 
route.  That  was  granted,  and  in  less  than  two  years  they  were  back, 
stating  that  they  had  bought  the  land  over  which  they  desired  to  build 
an  alteration  of  their  road,  and  would  the  assembly  allow  them  to  so 
build.  Naturally  no  objection  was  offered,  and  the  road  was  changed 
accordingly. 

Fuller  says  that  the  tollgate  stood  near  the  Lippitt  Mills,  and  that 
the  toll  gatherer  at  one  time  was  Caleb  Atwood,  who  was  also  the  land- 
lord of  the  tavern  near-by. 

The  gate  has  been  gone  so  many  years  that  no  one  has  yet  been 
found  who  dares  hazard  a  guess  as  to  the  date  when  the  road  became 
free,  even  the  insistent  questioning  of  the  lawyers  in  a  case  tried  in 
Coventry  many  years  ago  failing  to  bring  it  out. 

[3»] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


BURRILLVILLE   TURNPIKE   COMPANY 

We  have  seen  that  the  Farnum  and  Providence  Turnpike  Company 
sought  for  several  years  to  secure  a  charter  by  which  its  road  might 
be  connected  with  the  northwesterly  part  of  the  state.  The  general 
assembly  seems  to  have  realized  the  desirability  of  the  road,  but  lacked 
confidence  in  a  company  which,  in  over  four  years,  had  not  commenced 
to  build  the  few  miles  contemplated  in  its  original  charter. 

So  the  Burrillville  Turnpike  Company  was  incorporated  at  the 
February  session  in  1813  in  consequence  of  the  repeated  petitions  by 
the  Farnum  and  Providence.  Its  road  was  to  lead  from  the  latter 
company's  road  "  to  the  guide  post  in  Burrillville,  near  Nathan  Wil- 
liams'," but  we  are  unable  to  identify  it  with  any  roads  which  appear 
on  the  present-day  maps,  and  are  obliged  to  conclude  that  the  charter 
never  bore  fruit.  • 


THE   FOSTER  AND   SCITUATE   TURNPIKE 

The  petition  for  this  road  was  first  made  in  June,  181 1,  at  which  time 
the  petitioners  desired  to  build  from  the  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut 
boundary,  through  Hopkins  Mills,  to  the  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut 
Turnpike  in  the  easterly  part  of  the  town  of  Scituate.  But  the  assembly, 
doubtless  having  in  mind  the  delays  and  difficulties  of  the  Farnum  and 
Providence,  deferred  action,  finally  granting  a  charter  at  the  October 
session  of  18 13  to  the  Foster  and  Scituate  Turnpike  Society.  The 
length  of  road,  however,  was  curtailed,  and  a  franchise  was  granted 
only  from  the  Connecticut  line  to  Hopkins  Mills,  a  place  in  the  north- 
easterly part  of  the  town  of  Foster. 

An  unusual  privilege  was  allowed  in  the  charter  of  this  company 
which  was  designed  to  meet  the  difficulty  of  raising  ready  money.  The 
proposed  road  was  to  be  divided  into  two  hundred  sections  of  equal 
length  or  cost  to  build,  and  whoever  would  undertake  to  construct  and 
maintain  one  or  more  of  such  sections  could  be  paid  in  stock,  one  share 
for  each  section.  As  the  allowed  road  was  about  four  and  a  half  miles 
in  length,  the  sections  would  average  about  one  hundred  and  ninety 
feet,  for  the  building  and  maintaining  of  which  thirty  dollars  in  stock  at 
par  value  was  to  be  paid.  How  much  difficulty  would  a  modern  corpora- 
tion find  in  recording  that  that  amount  of  cash  had  been  received  from 
sale  of  stock  and  at  once  paid  out  on  account  of  work  performed?  But 
such  a  detail  had  to  receive  the  sanction,  in  advance,  of  the  general 
assembly  a  century  ago. 

Even  with  the  special  privilege  outlined  above,  the  construction  of 
the  turnpike  seems  to  have  been  a  slow  matter.  The  first  meeting  was 
appointed  for  a  day  in  April,  18 14,  but  the  promoters  failed  to  gather 
on  that  date  and  had  to  apply  for  a  legislative  act  authorizing  them  to 
[312] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    RHODE    ISLAND 

meet  on  October  16.  By  that  time  the  corporation  seems  to  have  es- 
tablished a  reputation  for  ability  to  carry  out  its  plans,  for  the  assembly 
then  granted  it  permission  to  extend  its  route  easterly  to  its  originally 
desired  connection  with  the  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut  Turnpike. 

The  promoters  of  this  enterprise  expected  that  another  turnpike 
would  be  chartered  in  Connecticut,  over  which  they  would  have  direct 
connection  with  Hartford  by  way  of  Danielson  and  Windham.  But  that 
hope  was  long  deferred  for  the  expected  corporation,  the  Providence 
Turnpike  Company,  was  not  formed  until  1825.  The  Connecticut  legis- 
lature then  granted  a  franchise,  but  only  from  the  state  line  to  Danielson. 

The  Rhode  Island  road  started  from  a  point  on  the  state  line,  "  near 
the  house  of  Captain  George  Baker,"  about  midway  on  the  westerly 
line  of  the  town  of  Foster  and  opposite  the  village  of  South  Killingly 
in  Connecticut,  and  proceeded  directly  to  Hopkins'  Mills,  where  Jona- 
than Hopkins  was  then  operating  the  saw  and  grist  mills  which  he  had 
established  about  twenty-four  years  before.  Thence  it  bore  nearly  due 
east  through  the  villages  of  Chopmist,  Trimtown,  and  North  Sciruate 
to  a  junction  with  the  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut  Turnpike  at  the 
southern  end  of  Moswansicut  Pond,  in  the  northeast  corner  of  Sciruate. 

That  the  turnpike  was  not  profitable  is  seen  from  an  act  passed  in 
January,  1848,  by  which  the  rates  of  toll  were  revised,  being  substan- 
tially increased  on  the  common  classes  of  traffic. 

The  road  was  still  in  operation  in  1858,  in  which  year  it  appeared 
in  the  assembly  halls,  asking  for  certain  amendments  in  its  charter,  but 
it  was  given  up  in  1866,  in  which  year  the  portion  in  Sciruate  was  deeded 
to  that  town.  That  portion  was  an  old  road  which  was  first  laid  out  in 
1731- 

THE    FOSTER   AND   SCITUATE   CENTRAL   TURNPIKE 

The  corporation  responsible  for  this  road  was  first  formed  by  the 
June  session  of  18 14,  and  promptly  commenced  work,  although  it  did 
not  carry  it  to  completion.  All  that  we  know  about  the  first  chapter  of 
this  road's  history  is  what  is  told  us  in  the  preamble  of  the  act  creating 
the  Foster  and  Glocester  Appian  Way  Society,  an  account  of  which 
follows  this.  From  that  we  learn  that  enough  of  the  Foster  and  Scituate 
Central  was  finished  in  a  year  to  justify  listing  it  among  the  turnpikes 
of  the  state.  But  the  work  languished  and  the  corporation's  rights 
expired  before  all  was  done.  At  the  October  session  of  1822  a  new  act 
of  incorporation,  creating  the  same  company,  with  the  same  name  and 
the  same  franchise,  was  passed,  and  by  this  corporation  the  road  was 
pushed  to  completion.  Six  gates  were  allowed,  the  most  westerly  to  be 
within  six  miles  of  the  Connecticut  line,  and  the  next  within  twelve  miles 
thereof.  Alterations  were  made  in  the  location  between  Scituate  and 
Knapp's  Hill  in  Johnston  in  1824,  and  an  increase  of  stock  was  allowed 
in  1828. 

[313] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


This  road  touched  Connecticut  three  eighths  of  a  mile  south  of 
where  the  Foster  and  Scituate  met  that  state.  It  is  shown  on  the  road 
maps  as  the  "  Central  Pike  "  and  as  "  Saundersville  Pike,"  and  swings 
in  a  semicircular  course  across  the  towns  of  Foster,  Scituate,  and  John- 
ston, crossing  the  north  end  of  Barden  Reservoir,  passing  through 
Saundersville  and  entering  Providence  over  Sunset  Avenue  to  its  con- 
nection with  Plainfield  Street,  the  old  Providence  and  Norwich 
Turnpike. 

In  1842,  in  response  to  a  petition,  it  was  enacted  that  unless  the 
corporation  repaired  its  road  properly  within  twelve  months  the  charter 
should  stand  repealed.  Under  conditions  as  serious  as  this  indicates, 
it  is  doubtful  if  the  terms  were  met,  and  this  probably  marks  the  end  of 
the  turnpike  operation. 


THE   FOSTER  AND   GLOCESTER   APPIAN   WAY 

Not  satisfied  with  the  poetic  accord  of  Foster  and  Glocester,  but 
indulging  in  fantastic  day  dreams  of  the  magnificent  roadway  they  were 
to  construct,  the  projectors  of  this  road,  having  in  mind  the  substantial 
pavement  of  large  and  well-fitting  blocks  of  stone  which  characterized 
the  road  of  Appius  Claudius  Caucus,  sought  incorporation  under  the 
name  of  the  Foster  and  Glocester  Appian  Way  Society.  Their  charter 
was  granted  in  June,  181 5,  and  the  preamble  gives  a  valuable  statement 
of  the  number  and  location  of  the  turnpikes  which  passed  through  the 
towns  named.     It  states : 

There  are  five  turnpikes  leading  from  Providence  to  Connecticut  through  the 
towns  of  Foster  and  Glocester;  the  southernmost  [the  Providence  and  Norwich] 
by  the  Friends  Meeting-house  in  Foster;  the  second  [the  Foster  and  Scituate  Cen- 
tral which  was  not  completed  at  that  time]  through  that  town  near  Colonel 
Nathaniel  Stone's  and  by  Captain  George  Baker's;  the  third  [the  Foster  and  Scitu- 
ate] by  Hopkins  Mills  and  said  Baker;  the  fourth  [the  Rhode  Island  and  Connecti- 
cut] through  the  northerly  part  of  Foster  by  Samuel  Hopkins'  and  Elisha  Aldrich's ; 
and  the  fifth  [the  West  Glocester]  through  Glocester  by  Chepachet. 

Further  comment  is  made  on  the  great  advantages  which  would  result 
from  the  opening  of  a  road  running  at  right  angles  with  all  of  those 
which  the  incorporators  desired  the  privilege  of  building,  but,  since 
it  does  not  appear  that  the  plans  were  ever  carried  out,  we  will  merely 
comment  on  a  few  of  the  references  noted  in  the  above  quotation,  and 
in  the  act  of  incorporation. 

The  Foster  and  Scituate  Central  Turnpike  had  been  chartered  at  the 
June  session  in  18 14,  and  was  then  under  construction,  but  the  work  was 
interrupted,  being  resumed  and  finished  under  a  new  franchise  issued  in 
October,  1822.  The  Friends'  meeting-house  still  stands,  although  used 
now  by  another  denomination,  in  the  village  of  Vernon,  in  the  southerly 
part  of  Foster,  on  the  old  Providence  and  Norwich  Turnpike. 

It  evidently  was  the  intention  of  the  incorporators  of  this  company 

[3H] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    RHODE    ISLAND 


to  build  a  road  from  the  Providence  and  Norwich  Turnpike,  in  the  vil- 
lage of  Vernon,  to  the  Connecticut  line,  in  the  northwest  corner  of 
Gloucester,  where  it  was  to  meet  the  road  of  the  Thompson  Turnpike 
Company,  a  Connecticut  corporation  formed  in  1803.  It  is  hard  to 
follow  the  reasoning  which  could  make  such  a  road  seem  advisable.  To 
divert  traffic  which  had  already  shown  indications  of  reaching  Provi- 
dence, and  to  turn  it  toward  Norwich,  which  it  could  better  reach  by 
going  another  way,  seems  to  this  generation  a  misconception. 

The  charter  which  was  granted  for  this  road  also  contained  the  pro- 
vision noted  in  connection  with  the  Foster  and  Scituate,  by  which  it  was 
to  be  allowed  to  divide  the  road  into  sections,  the  construction  and  care 
of  which  might  be  assumed  in  payment  for  stock. 

According  to  "  A  Gazetteer  of  the  States  of  Rhode  Island  and  Con- 
necticut," J  the  promoters  of  this  road  contemplated  an  ultimate  exten- 
sion to  Canada  but,  as  said  before,  it  does  not  appear  that  any  part  of 
this  "  Appian  Way  "  was  ever  built. 


THE   NEW   LONDON   TURNPIKE 

When  one  considers  the  importance  of  the  railroad  division  between 
Providence  and  New  London  and  observes  the  tremendous  traffic  which 
daily  passes  between  those  cities,  it  indeed  seems  strange  that  the  turn- 
pike which  preceded  the  railroad  was  so  late  in  being  built.  Not  until 
181 5  was  a  petition  entered  for  a  franchise  covering  this  route. 

Before  the  European  saw  this  region  the  Indians  had  their  well- 
beaten  path  leading  from  Providence  to  Westerly  and  thence  to  New 
London.  Later,  known  as  the  Pequot  Path,  this  trail  developed  into 
the  early  colonial  Post  Road,  over  which  a  post  was  established  as  early 
as  1690,  and  which  was  used  by  Madam  Knight  in  1704.  Starting  in 
Providence  at  what  was  then  the  head  of  the  bay,  the  path  crossed  a 
ford  at  the  foot  of  what  is  now  Steeple  Street,  and  followed  the  lines  of 
the  present  Weybosset  and  Broad  streets  and  Elmwood  Avenue,  through 
East  Greenwich  and  over  Kingston  Hill,  passing  on  the  north  of 
Charlestown  Pond,  and  entered  Connecticut  by  a  ford  of  the  Pawcatuck 
River  where  the  town  of  Westerly  now  stands.  In  subsequent  develop- 
ment of  the  post  route,  the  Providence  and  Norwich  road  was  opened, 
but  it  is  significant  of  the  engineering  instincts  of  the  Indians  that  the 
highly  developed  railroad  returned  to  the  primeval  location.  But  from 
1795  to  1820  the  line  of  improved  highways  between  Providence  and 
New  London  lay  through  Norwich;  and  Westerly  and  Stonington,  with 
all  the  east  side  of  the  Thames  River,  were  left  on  a  side  route. 

In  May,  1816,  the  Providence  and  Pawcatuck  Turnpike  Society  was 
incorporated  with  the  privilege  of  building  from  Providence  to  the 
Nathaniel  Arnold  Bridge  in  West  Greenwich,  and  thence  southwesterly 

1  By  John  C.  Pease  and  John  M.  Niles,  Hartford,  1819. 

[315] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

to  Pawcatuck  Bridge  in  Westerly.  Promising  as  the  route  seemed  the 
corporation  had  hard  work  in  constructing  its  road  and  in  raising  the 
money  therefor.  Three  years  after  the  incorporation  the  company 
secured  the  passage  of  an  act  by  which  it  was  allowed  to  erect  a  gate 
as  soon  as  it  had  completed  six  miles  of  road,  and  additional  gates  as 
fast  as  more  six-mile  sections  were  finished.  In  1820  it  was  provided 
that  the  gates  might  be  spaced  four  miles  apart  instead  of  six,  which  all 
shows  that  every  little  addition  to  the  finances  was  welcome. 

Pawcatuck  Bridge  was  an  old  establishment  connecting  the  villages 
of  Westerly,  Rhode  Island,  and  Pawcatuck,  Connecticut,  so  we  see  in 
the  first  turnpike  proposal  a  return  to  the  way  of  the  Indian.  A  public 
stage  road  was  built  about  18 15  from  the  head  of  the  Mystic  River, 
across  Stonington  to  Westerly,  and  this  was  at  first  intended  to  form  a 
part  of  the  improved  route.  But  some  insurmountable  force  was  in 
opposition  to  a  road  through  Westerly.  The  Providence  and  Pawca- 
tuck never  built  its  road  beyond  to-day's  village  of  Wyoming  in  the  town 
of  Richmond,  and  another  corporation  took  up  the  burden  from  that 
point. 

The  Hopkinton  and  Richmond  Turnpike  Corporation  was  formed 
by  an  act  of  the  February  session  of  1820,  its  franchise  extending  from 
a  point  on  the  Connecticut  line  southwesterly  from  Hopkinton  City,  and 
at  the  end  of  a  Connecticut  road  from  New  London,  thence  north- 
easterly to  a  connection  with  the  Providence  and  Pawcatuck.  The  Con- 
necticut road  just  referred  to  was  the  Groton  and  Stonington  Turnpike, 
which  had  been  chartered  in  1818  and  built  from  Groton  Ferry,  which 
crossed  the  Thames  River,  to  the  Rhode  Island  line.  It  was  expected 
that  the  Connecticut  road  would  follow  the  new  stage  road  to  Westerly, 
but  a  sudden  change  in  the  plans  threw  it  up  through  North  Stonington, 
and  the  Hopkinton  and  Richmond  bridged  the  space  to  the  Providence 
and  Pawcatuck,  completing  the  turnpike  connection  from  Providence 
to  the  ferry  by  which  New  London  was  entered. 

The  opening  of  this  route  revolutionized  travel  between  Boston 
and  New  York,  which  now  proceeded  to  New  London  by  stage,  and 
thence  to  New  York  by  a  steamship  which  lay  overnight  at  New  Haven. 
Not  until  about  this  time  was  it  considered  practicable  for  any  form  of 
boat  to  make  regular  trips  around  Point  Judith,  but  soon  we  find  a 
scheduled  line  from  New  York  to  Providence,  which  superseded  the 
New  London  Turnpike  for  through  travel  about  1830.  By  the  opening 
of  the  railroad  from  Providence  to  New  London,  it  would  seem  that 
the  turnpike  had  been  dealt  its  deathblow,  but  it  lasted  many  years 
longer,  although  not  a  prosperous  enterprise. 

The  attorney-general  was  instructed,  in  1857,  to  examine  the  charter 
under  which  the  turnpike  was  operated,  and  advise  the  general  as- 
sembly how  the  same  could  be  amended  so  that  the  corporation  could 
be  compelled  to  keep  its  road  in  good  condition  during  the  winter. 

To  follow  the  New  London  Turnpike  to-day  one  should  start  at  the 
[316] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    RHODE    ISLAND 

corner  of  Elmwood  Avenue  and  Parkis  Street,  that  being  at  the  old 
Providence  town  line,  and  follow  out  Elmwood  and  Reservoir  avenues 
to  Blackmore  Pond.  From  there  to  the  Sockanosset  Reservoir  the  old 
road  has  been  changed  and  does  not  now  appear  on  the  map,  but  the 
turnpike  is  found  again  in  the  road  which  skirts  the  reservoir  estate  on 
the  southeast  side;  thence  through  Natick,  Centerville,  and  Crompton, 
in  Warwick,  and  Wyoming  and  Hope  Valley,  in  Richmond,  to  Hopkin- 
ton  "  City  "  and  straight  ahead  to  the  limits  of  the  state.  A  glorious 
view  is  to  be  had  when  passing  over  Prospect  Hill,  midway  between 
Natick  and  Centerville,  sweeping  the  bay  from  Rocky  Point  to  Pawtuxet. 

There  seems  to  be  no  record  of  the  transfer  of  the  turnpike  to  the 
town  of  Cranston,  and  we  have  been  unable  to  determine  when  the  road 
became  free  of  toll. 

That  there  was  a  test  of  strength  over  the  location  of  the  new  turn- 
pike route  from  Providence  to  New  London,  and  that  the  advocates  of 
a  road  through  Westerly  fought  to  the  last  ditch  may  be  inferred  from 
the  incorporation  of  another  company  soon  after  the  formation  of  the 
Hopkinton  and  Richmond.  That  was  the  Wickford  and  Pawcatuck 
Turnpike  Company,  chartered  at  the  May  session  of  1822  to  build  from 
the  village  of  Wickford  to  Pawcatuck  Bridge.  If  the  new  turnpike 
would  not  pass  through  Westerly,  the  interests  of  that  town  would  build 
a  turnpike  of  their  own  with  a  parallel  entrance  into  Providence.  But 
this  must  have  been  the  last  card  of  the  Pawcatuck  Bridge  advocates, 
for  no  such  road  was  built,  and  apparently  the  opposition  to  the  Provi- 
dence and  Pawcatuck's  connection  with  the  Hopkinton  and  Richmond 
was  heard  no  more. 


THE   SMITHFIELD   TURNPIKE 

This  proposition  was  first  heard  in  18 18  when  the  petition  was  made 
which  resulted  in  the  creation  of  the  Cumberland  and  Smithfield  Turn- 
pike Corporation.  Nothing  was  done  by  this  company,  but  in  May, 
1823,  a  new  petition  was  made  for  a  franchise  over  the  same  route,  and 
in  June  of  the  same  year  a  charter  was  granted  creating  the  Smithfield 
Turnpike  Corporation.     The  route  allowed  was 

from  the  Friends'  meeting-house  in  Smithfield  southerly  to  the  branch  of  the  Doug- 
lass Turnpike  at  the  Moshassock  Bridge. 

Friends'  meeting-houses  in  Rhode  Island  seem  to  have  been  as  thick 
as  the  proverbial  thieves,  and  the  reference  above  to  one  of  them  helps 
us  but  little.  It  seems,  however,  from  reading  both  the  act  and  the 
petition  that  it  was  intended  to  have  the  road  terminate  about  at  the 
present  village  of  Lonsdale,  but  it  was  never  built  that  far.  Steere's 
"  History  of  Smithfield  "  tells  of  a  Quaker  church  which  stood  on  the 
river  at  Lower  Smithfield,  and  which  was  mentioned  in  a  deed  given 
in  1708.    That  may  have  been  the  one  mentioned  in  the  charter  for  the 

[317] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

Smithfield  Turnpike,  although  the  fact  of  its  being  "  on  the  river  "  is 
hardly  consistent  with  our  conclusion  that  Lonsdale  was  the  northerly 
objective  point. 

An  additional  franchise  to  build  a  branch  of  the  turnpike  was  secured 
in  1826,  by  which  the  corporation  was  authorized  to  build  from  its  road 
northeasterly  to  the  Smithfield  Road  at  the  southerly  end  of  Scott's 
Pond.  This  was  clearly  constructed,  as  was  the  main  turnpike  from  the 
junction  southerly.  Together  the  road  and  its  branch  formed  the 
street  known  to-day  as  Smithfield  Avenue  in  Providence,  Pawtucket, 
and  Lincoln. 

With  the  authorization  for  the  branch,  permission  was  given  to  in- 
crease the  capital  to  provide  the  sinews  for  its  building,  and  the  com- 
pany was  allowed  to  collect  extra  tolls  on  heavily  loaded  teams.  Lime 
was  here  a  favored  industry  as  is  indicated  by  the  easier  tolls  imposed 
upon  its  carriage. 

The  Providence  and  Worcester  Railroad,  which  had  been  opened  to 
Pawtucket  in  1847,  was  seen  pushing  its  way  northward  in  1848,  when 
it  encountered  the  Smithfield  Turnpike  at  an  angle  awkward  for  cross- 
ing. On  the  petition  by  the  railroad  company  the  general  assembly 
authorized  the  supreme  court  to  relocate  the  turnpike  to  provide  a 
proper  crossing.  That  was  in  June,  1848,  and  a  later  act  in  January, 
1849,  causes  a  smile.  The  first  act  had  put  it  up  to  the  court  to  per- 
sonally relocate  the  turnpike,  and  another  act  was  necessary  before 
three  commissioners  could  be  appointed  to  do  the  detail  work.  The 
result  of  these  proceedings  is  to  be  seen  to-day  in  the  sharp  bend  made 
by  Smithfield  Avenue  where  it  crosses  the  railroad  in  the  northerly  part 
of  Providence. 

The  town  council  of  North  Providence  laid  out  the  Smithfield  Turn- 
pike as  a  public  highway  April  4,  1870. 


THE   PAWTUXET  TURNPIKE 

Eddy  Street,  m  Providence,  is  another  thoroughfare  which  has  been 
in  part  a  turnpike.  The  portion  from  the  junction  with  Broad  Street, 
in  the  Edgewood  District,  to  the  corner  of  Richmond  Street  by  the  coal 
wharves,  was  built  by  the  Pawtuxet  Turnpike  Corporation,  which  was 
formed  at  the  January  session  of  1825.  In  the  franchise  the  route  was 
thus  described: 

from  the  Providence  and  Pawtuxet  road,  about  two  miles  northerly  of  Pawtuxet, 
northerly,  between  the  two  hospitals,  until  it  enters  the  compact  part  of  said  town 
[Providence]  at  Eddy's  Point. 

Three  rods  was  to  be  the  width  of  the  road,  and  one  gate  was  allowed 
provided  that  it  was  not  placed  within  two  miles  of  the  state  house, 
which  was  then  on  the  east  side  of  the  river.  At  the  June  session  in  the 
same  year  the  corporation  was  allowed  to  include  the  portion  of  the  old 
[318] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    RHODE    ISLAND 

road  from  its  junction  therewith  to  the  present  corner  of  Berwick  Lane, 
which  was  "  within  half  a  mile  of  Pawtuxet  Bridge."  Before  this  was 
done,  however,  the  village  of  Pawtuxet  was  required  to  put  the  portion 
of  the  road  thus  to  be  given  to  private  interests  in  satisfactory  repair. 
No  gate  was  to  be  erected  on  such  portion  of  the  old  road. 

The  map  of  Providence,  prepared  by  Daniel  Anthony  in  1803,  shows 
the  two  hospitals  mentioned  above  well  out  of  town  and  to  the  south. 
A  road,  apparently  the  predecessor  of  the  modern  Plain  Street,  is  in- 
dicated as  the  "  Road  to  New  Hospital,"  while  another,  about  on  the 
lines  of  the  present  Hospital  Street,  is  marked  "  Road  to  Hospital." 
The  two  hospitals  gave  place  some  fifty  years  ago  to  the  present  efficient 
Rhode  Island  Hospital.  Eddy's  Point  we  find  on  the  same  map  at  the 
foot  of  Ship  Street,  and  we  can  see  by  the  present-day  maps  that  Eddy 
Street  points  straight  for  that  section. 

The  life  of  the  corporation  was  uneventful  as  far  as  written  records 
show  for  many  years,  although  it  is  easily  to  be  seen  that  a  great  deal 
of  internal  quarreling  and  external  bickering  must  have  gone  on.  But 
in  1 841  a  storm  broke,  and  the  corporate  skeleton  in  the  closet  came 
out  in  full  view.  With  the  January  session  of  that  year  was  filed  a 
petition  by  certain  of  the  stockholders  in  the  corporation,  asserting  that 
they  were  not  properly  treated  in  the  management  of  the  company's 
affairs,  that  money  which  should  be  devoted  to  the  payment  of  divi- 
dends or  repairs  on  the  road  was  spent  in  a  manner  detrimental  to  the 
stockholders'  interests,  and  that  the  management  of  the  business  was 
improperly  conducted  in  other  particulars.  They  prayed  that  a  com- 
mittee might  be  appointed  with  power  to  examine  the  corporation's 
books,  inspect  the  road,  and  issue  such  orders  as  would  best  conserve 
the  interests  of  the  investors.  Another  petition  was  presented  by  the 
owners  of  land  adjacent  to  the  turnpike,  many  of  whom  had  built  their 
dwellings  on  its  side.  These  complained  that  the  road  was  not  built  in 
conformity  with  the  franchise  requirements,  being  in  the  wrong  location, 
that  the  gate  had  been  erected,  notwithstanding  the  prohibition,  within 
two  miles  of  the  state  house,  and  that  toll  was  exacted  from  persons 
engaged  in  agricultural  work  and  who  were  exempt  from  such  demands. 
It  was  further  set  forth  that  the  form  of  construction  of  the  road  was 
such  that  water  would  not  flow  from  the  adjoining  lands  but  was  held 
back  in  standing  pools.  The  corporation  would  neither  place  culverts 
across  its  road  nor  allow  others  to  do  so.  To  those  dwellers  along  the 
road  who  asked  permission  to  lay  sidewalks  at  the  side  of  the  street 
in  front  of  their  houses,  invariable  refusals  had  been  given.  So  they, 
too,  begged  for  the  appointment  of  a  committee  with  power  to  remedy 
their  grievances. 

To  the  complaint  of  illegality  in  the  location  of  gate  and  road  the 
assembly  gave  prompt  and  complete  answer,  which  must  have  raised 
little  hope  among  the  petitioners  of  any  further  favor.  It  was  enacted 
that,  however  illegal,  the  gate  and  the  road  should  remain  where  they 

[319] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

were,  and  their  locations  were  confirmed  and  established.  But  the  com- 
mittee was  appointed  as  asked,  and  upon  its  recommendation  a  further 
act  was  passed  at  the  same  session,  which  required  the  corporation  to  be 
more  human. 

That  part  of  the  turnpike  within  the  city  limits  of  Providence  was 
deeded  to  that  municipality  April  7,  1846,  but  the  city  advisers  seem  to 
have  doubted  the  legality  of  the  transfer,  and  acceptance  of  the  road 
was  delayed  until  the  general  assembly  could  be  asked  to  sanction  the 
same.  At  the  January  session  of  1847  the  desired  sanction  was  ob- 
tained, conditional  upon  the  consent  of  the  city  and  all  the  adjoining 
property  owners,  and  on  July  3,  1847,  the  city  made  formal  acceptance 
of  the  road. 

Complaints  again  arose  in  1853,  when  another  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  examine  the  books  and  inspect  the  road.  Adverse  action  on 
account  of  any  report  which  this  committee  might  make,  was  forestalled 
by  the  corporation's  completing  negotiations  with  the  town  of  Crans- 
ton to  take  over  the  balance  of  the  road.  Hence  in  April,  1855,  the 
Cranston  portion  of  the  turnpike  was  deeded  to  that  town,  which  had 
already  voted  to  accept  the  same  if  it  was  offered. 

By  the  two  actions  noted  above,  the  entire  turnpike  became  free,  but 
apparently  the  corporation  continued  to  maintain  its  existence  and  trans- 
act some  kind  of  business,  for  in  1862  the  attorney-general  was  in- 
structed to  ascertain  if  the  company  was  still  legally  doing  business  and 
if  its  rights  had  not  been  forfeited. 

THE   RHODE   ISLAND   AND   CONNECTICUT   CENTRAL 

TURNPIKE 

This  proposed  road  is  included  in  the  list  here,  because  one  history 
has  been  found  which  speaks  of  it  as  a  turnpike  which  was  constructed. 
It  clearly  never  was  built.  Its  franchise  allowed  a  location  from  the 
westerly  end  of  the  Woonasquatucket  Turnpike,  through  Johnston,  a 
corner  of  Scituate,  and  the  southwest  part  of  Gloucester,  to  the  Con- 
necticut line,  heading  for  "  Pomfret  Factory." 

Had  such  a  road  been  built  it  would  have  been  laid  between  the 
Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut,  and  the  Glocester  turnpikes,  which  are 
nowhere  over  four  miles  apart,  and  which  extend  between  the  same 
terminal  districts.  There  was  no  need  for  such  a  turnpike,  and  it  re- 
quired a  year  and  a  half  to  persuade  the  assembly  to  grant  the  charter 
which  was  enacted  in  June,  1825. 

THE   MINERAL   SPRING   TURNPIKE 

The  Smithfield  and  Glocester  Turnpike  Corporation  was  created  in 
June,  1825,  to  build  from  the  village  of  Pawtucket  westerly  to  the 
Powder  Mill  Turnpike  and  thence  to  the  Connecticut  line.  The  west- 
[320] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    RHODE    ISLAND 

erly  end  of  this  proposed  route  was  open  to  the  same  criticisms  as  the 
Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut  Central,  as  it  was  to  pass  halfway  be- 
tween the  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut,  and  the  Glocester  turnpikes. 
It  is  hard  to  see,  at  this  day,  why  so  many  were  anxious  to  provide  direct 
connections  from  Providence  to  the  eastern  part  of  Connecticut,  and  we 
must  remember  that,  at  that  time,  many  of  the  waterfalls  of  the  Quine- 
baug  and  Shetucket  valleys  had  been  utilized  for  small  textile  mills. 
Small  as  was  the  output  of  these  mills  it  must  have  been  the  prospect 
of  the  freight  from  them  that  raised  such  hopes  of  turnpike  prosperity. 
But  the  section  east  of  the  Powder  Mill  Turnpike  had  other  reasons  for 
rosy  hopes,  which  seemed  sufficiently  well-founded  to  enable  the  pro- 
moters to  build  that  part. 

Near  the  mineral  spring  which  has  given  a  local  name  to  the  north- 
west part  of  Pawtucket,  a  deposit  of  bog  iron  was  found  by  the  early 
settlers,  and  by  the  beginning  of  the  eighteenth  century  a  rough  cart 
path  ran  from  Pawtucket  Falls  over  the  route  now  followed  by  Mineral 
Spring  Avenue.  Ironworks  were  in  operation  at  Pawtucket  Falls  before 
the  erection  of  the  Pawtucket  Bridge,  and  a  forge  stood  on  the  banks 
of  the  Moshassuck  River  where  the  iron  was  converted  into  blooms  to 
be  carted  to  the  works  at  the  falls.  The  installation  of  the  first  carding 
and  spinning  mill  in  America  at  Pawtucket  in  1790,  and  the  rapid 
growth  of  that  industry  gave  a  tremendous  impetus  to  the  ironworks, 
which  were  called  upon  to  provide  the  wear-resisting  parts  of  the  new 
machinery.  For  it  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  England,  jealously  seek- 
ing to  maintain  a  monopoly  of  the  textile  trade,  prohibited  the  exporta- 
tion of  any  of  the  machines  or  plans  thereof.  Hence  the  early  carding 
and  spinning  machinery  in  Pawtucket  was  constructed  from  the  memory 
of  Samuel  Slater  who  had  operated  such  in  the  old  country. 

As  long  as  the  turnpike  corporation  was  burdened  with  the  obliga- 
tion to  build  clear  to  the  Connecticut  line,  it  was  found  impossible  to 
make  any  headway,  and  the  promoters  were  obliged  to  return  to  the 
general  assembly  in  October,  1826,  for  a  revision  of  the  charter. 
Then  the  name  of  the  corporation  was  changed  to  the  Mineral  Spring 
Turnpike  Corporation,  and  the  franchise  was  cut  down  so  that  it  only 
covered  that  part  of  the  original  route  which  lay  east  of  the  Powder 
Mill  Turnpike.  That  was  a  more  businesslike  proposition  and  the  road 
was  built  during  the  next  year,  1827.  Under  an  agreement  made  with 
the  first  corporation,  the  town  of  North  Providence  contributed  for  ten 
years  the  receipts  of  the  town  landing  at  Pawtucket  toward  the  con- 
struction and  maintenance  of  the  turnpike. 

Angell's  "  Annals  of  Centerdale  "  speaks  of  this  road  as  running 
through  a  district  not  previously  served  on  east  and  west  lines,  but  as 
being  handicapped  by  being  laid  over  long  hills,  a  fault  with  so  many 
turnpikes.  A  glance  at  the  map  will  show  how  well  the  road,  as  finally 
constructed,  met  the  needs  of  the  community.  Pawtucket  now,  as  well 
as  Providence,  was  provided  with  direct  and  improved  connections  with 

[321] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

the  rapidly  opening  textile  districts  in  eastern  Connecticut  and  central 
Massachusetts,  as  the  new  road  intersected  both  the  Douglas  and  the 
Powder  Mill  turnpikes. 

North  Providence  purchased  the  turnpike  from  its  owners  in  1867 
and  named  it  Mineral  Spring  Avenue.  It  commenced  in  Pawtucket  at 
the  southeasterly  corner  of  Mineral  Spring  Cemetery,  and  at  the  present 
corner  with  Main  Street. 


THE   EAST   TURNPIKE 

This  road  was  built  by  the  Pawtucket  and  Providence  East  Turnpike 
Corporation  which  was  chartered  in  October,  1825.  It  is  the  present 
East  Avenue,  in  Pawtucket,  and  Hope  Street,  in  Providence,  and  to  one 
familiar  with  the  congested  city  conditions  now  found  along  the  greater 
part  of  its  borders,  the  description  of  the  route  as  given  in  the  charter 
must  be  amusing.     It  reads 

from  the  village  of  Pawtucket,  in  North  Providence,  through  the  farms  of  Timothy 
Greene,  Thomas  Arnold,  and  others,  and  ending  at  Olney's  lane,  so  called,  in  said 
Providence. 

The  end  in  the  village  of  Pawtucket  was  at  what  is  now  the  corner 
of  East  Avenue,  Church,  and  Pleasant  streets,  and  the  Providence 
termination  was  then  as  now  at  Olney's  Lane,  at  a  point  which  was  then 
the  highest  point  in  the  town,  being  later  selected  as  the  location  of  the 
Hope  Reservoir  of  the  city's  waterworks.  To  those  who  wonder  at  the 
choice  of  a  route,  attention  is  called  to  the  map  of  Providence  in  1803, 
which  will  be  found  as  Plate  lxxxi.  By  that  it  will  be  seen  that  the 
College  Hill  section  of  Providence  was  then  the  larger  part  of  the  town 
and,  owing  to  the  unhealthy  influence  of  the  old  Cove,  which  occupied 
the  site  of  the  present  Union  Station,  seemed  likely  to  be  the  coming 
center.  Even  so,  the  promoters  of  the  East  Turnpike  must  have  antici- 
pated pleasure  driving  and  the  teaming  of  store  stocks  rather  than  a 
heavy  traffic,  and  it  does  not  seem  possible  that,  as  late  as  1825,  anyone 
could  have  figured  remunerative  returns  from  the  investment. 

Although  we  may  criticize  their  judgment  on  turnpike  locations,  to 
the  owners  of  the  East  Turnpike  we  must  give  credit  for  ability  to  see 
when  their  investment  was  doomed.  For  this  corporation,  in  1837, 
secured  the  passage  of  an  act  by  which  it  was  authorized  to  make  a  rail- 
road of  its  turnpike  and  to  extend  the  same  to  India  Point,  to  which  the 
Boston  and  Providence  Railroad  had  been  built  in  June,  1835.  At  the 
time  of  this  act  the  New  York,  Providence,  and  Boston  Railroad  was 
pushing  its  construction  between  Westerly  and  the  Providence  River, 
intending  to  connect  with  the  Boston  and  Providence  by  means  of  a 
ferry,  and  to  have  its  terminus  at  a  convenient  point  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  harbor.  In  addition  to  the  right  to  extend  its  turnpike  and  con- 
vert it  into  a  railroad,  the  Pawtucket  and  Providence  East  Corporation 
[322] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    RHODE    ISLAND 

secured  a  franchise  for  a  full-fledged  railroad  to  be  built  from  some 
point  on  the  line  of  the  New  York,  Providence,  and  Boston  Railroad 
to  Central  Falls,  and  thence  up  the  valley  of  the  Blackstone  River  to  the 
Massachusetts  line,  a  clear  anticipation  of  the  Providence  and  Worces- 
ter Railroad. 

It  has  already  been  pointed  out  that  the  early  conception  of  a  rail- 
road was  that  it  was  to  be  an  improved  form  of  turnpike,  on  which  any 
private  party  was  to  be  at  liberty  to  drive  his  own  horse  attached  to  his 
own  vehicle,  and  on  a  schedule  of  his  own  improvisation.  Section  six 
of  the  amended  charter  of  this  company  allowed  the  collection  of  toll 
from  all  passengers  and  on  all  property,  at  such  rates  as  the  directors 
might  establish.  The  directors  were  further  empowered  to  make  rules 
regulating  the  form  of  cars  and  wheels  and  limiting  the  loads,  always : 

PROVIDED,  that  no  regulation  shall  be  adopted  by  said  corporation  that  shall 
exclude  individuals  residing  on  said  road,  from  travelling  on  the  same  in  private 
cars ;  conforming  in  all  things  to  such  regulations,  and  paying  such  tolls  as  may  be 
required  by  said  corporation. 

Warehouses  were  to  be  erected  and  tollhouses  built,  and  tollgates  were 
to  be  swung  across  the  tracks. 

In  1839  the  name  of  the  corporation  was  changed  to  the  Providence 
and  Boston  Branch  Railroad  Company,  not  appropriate  at  all  for  a 
road  reaching  toward  Worcester,  and  it  was  allowed  until  1844  to  com- 
plete its  railroad.  The  expiration  of  its  rights  was  followed  promptly 
by  the  incorporation  in  May,  1844,  of  the  Providence  and  Worcester 
Railroad  Company,  and  construction  by  that  company  ended  all  hopes 
of  extensions  by  the  East  Turnpike. 

In  October,  1843,  the  portion  of  the  East  Turnpike  between  the 
crossing  of  the  Providence  and  Pawtucket  Turnpike  and  the  end  at 
Church  Street,  in  Pawtucket,  was  thrown  open  for  free  passage,  but 
collections  continued  for  passing  over  the  balance  of  the  road.  In  May, 
1850,  the  corporation  secured  authority  to  erect  an  additional  gate  on 
the  southerly  side  of  Harrington's,  or  Herrendon's,  Lane,  at  which  half 
tolls  were  to  be  assessed. 

Nothing  further  has  been  found  concerning  this  road  until  1872, 
and  apparently  it  gradually  died  away.  The  committee  which  reported 
in  May,  1870,  had  not  discovered  such  a  turnpike  at  all,  but  the  turn- 
pike commissioner  had  had  it  called  to  his  attention.  He  reported  that 
he  had  found  no  one  conducting  the  affairs  of  the  road  and  had  been 
unable  to  learn  the  names  of  any  stockholders  or  officials  of  the  corpora- 
tion. Providence  and  North  Providence  were  then  acting  with  the 
object  of  laying  out  the  turnpike  as  a  free  public  highway.  So  the  East 
Turnpike  became  such  in  1872. 


[323] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


PROPOSED   TURNPIKE   FROM    PROVIDENCE   TO   WARREN 

A  charter  for  such  a  road  was  granted  by  the  January  session  of 
1827  to  the  Providence  and  Warren  Turnpike  Corporation,  and  the 
turnpike  was  to  be  built  in  connection  with  that  of  the  Providence  and 
Bristol,  for  which  a  charter  was  issued  in  Massachusetts  in  1829. 

The  road  would  have  commenced  somewhere  in  Providence  and  run 
eastwardly  to  the  river,  somewhere  near  India  Point  where  a  bridge 
was  to  be  built  connecting  with  the  Massachusetts  road.  That  turnpike, 
as  we  have  already  seen,  contemplated  just  one  straight  shoot  across 
Massachusetts  territory,  after  which  the  traveler  was  to  again  enter 
Rhode  Island  in  the  town  of  Barrington,  and  proceed  as  directly  as 
possible  to  the  town  of  Warren.     But  such  a  road  was  never  built. 


FALL   RIVER   AND   WATUPPA   TURNPIKE 

This  is  the  only  turnpike  which  has  been  noted  as  being  entirely 
transferred  into  another  state  by  a  change  in  boundary  lines.  Origi- 
nally chartered  by  the  Rhode  Island  assembly  and  built  in  Rhode 
Island  territory,  this  road,  by  the  adjustment  of  the  state  line  which  was 
made  in  1 861,  became  throughout  its  length  subject  to  Massachusetts 
laws,  and  was  finally  made  free  in  accordance  with  them. 

Previous  to  1861  the  state  line  passed  almost  through  the  center  of 
the  present  city  of  Fall  River  and  crossed  the  narrow  neck  between  the 
two  Watuppa  Ponds,  leaving  a  considerable  section  east  of  the  ponds 
in  Rhode  Island.  Hence  the  authority  of  Rhode  Island  to  grant  the 
franchise  for  this  road. 

At  the  May  session  of  the  general  assembly  in  1827,  the  Fall  River 
and  Watupper  Turnpike  Company  was  incorporated  with  the  franchise 
to  build  a  turnpike  from  the  line  between  Massachusetts  and  Rhode 
Island  at  the  corner  of  the  "  first  great  lot  and  the  mill  share  of  the 
Pocasset  purchase,"  thence  "  southeasterly  to  the  Narrows  on  the  road 
that  divides  the  Watupper  Ponds  " ;  and  thence  eastwardly  to  the  line 
of  the  town  of  Westport.  In  1838  it  was  enacted  that  the  erection 
and  maintenance  of  the  bridge  across  the  Narrows,  should  be  forever 
incumbent  upon  the  turnpike  corporation. 

In  consequence  of  the  charter  just  recited  the  present  Pleasant  Street 
in  Fall  River  was  built,  and  it  was  operated  as  a  toll  road  until  Septem- 
ber, 1864,  when  the  city  acquired  the  turnpike  and  made  it  free.  The 
western  end  of  the  turnpike  was  the  corner  of  what  is  now  Plymouth 
Avenue  and  Pleasant  Street,  while  its  eastern  terminus  was  a  short  dis- 
tance east  of  the  ponds. 

This  road  is  well  known  to  trolley  tourists,  as  over  it  the  high-speed 
electric  cars  to  New  Bedford  enter  and  leave  Fall  River. 

[324] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    RHODE    ISLAND 


THE  PROVIDENCE   AND   NORWICH   CITY  TURNPIKE 

Although  it  is  plain  that  this  proposed  public  utility  was  never  con- 
structed, it  seems  to  merit  more  than  a  mere  mention  of  the  incorpora- 
tion. Duty  Green  appears  to  have  been  the  moving  spirit  in  promoting 
such  a  road  and  his  petition  was  twice  referred,  resulting  finally  in  the 
granting  of  a  charter  for  the  Providence  and  Norwich  City  Turnpike 
Corporation  by  the  general  assembly  at  its  June  session  in  1830.  How, 
with  the  knowledge  that  the  original  Providence  and  Norwich  Turnpike 
had  had  such  a  hard  time  making  both  ends  meet,  Mr.  Green  could 
have  figured  that  a  paralleling  road,  dividing  the  business,  could  ever 
succeed  is  beyond  present-day  calculations.  But  evidently  he  did,  and 
others,  too,  for  a  connecting  turnpike  was  chartered  in  Connecticut,  form- 
ing part  of  the  same  scheme.  That  was  the  Shetucket  Turnpike,  the 
corporation  for  which  was  created  by  an  act  passed  in  May,  1829,  about 
the  time  that  Duty  Green  made  his  first  petition. 

The  Rhode  Island  Company  was  to  be  allowed  to  build  from  the 
intersection  at  the  state  line  with  the  Connecticut  road,  as  straight  as 
it  could  to  Hoyle's  Tavern  in  Providence.  No  such  straight  road  exists 
to-day  and  it  is  safe  to  say  that  none  ever  did. 

Hoyle's  Tavern  was  an  ancient  inn  which  stood  in  the  fork  between 
High  (now  Westminster)   and  Cranston  streets. 

According  to  the  index  of  the  Rhode  Island  special  acts,  a  petition 
was  made  in  1857  for  the  annulment  of  the  charter  of  this  corporation, 
but  only  a  little  study  is  needed  to  show  that  the  petition  had  reference 
to  the  first  Providence  and  Norwich  Turnpike  and  not  to  this  project. 


THE   STONE  BRIDGE  AND   FALL  RIVER  TURNPIKE 

This  road  was  the  original  of  the  present  Bay  Street  id  Fall  River, 
extending  from  what  was  then  the  state  boundary,  at  the  corner  with 
William  Street,  to  the  Stone  Bridge;  mostly  along  the  shore  of  Mount 
Hope  Bay.  It  was  built  by  the  Stone  Bridge  and  Fall  River  Turnpike 
Company,  which  was  created  at  the  January  session  of  1838. 

Stone  Bridge  was  then  about  thirty  years  old,  having  been  com- 
menced in  1806  and  completed  about  the  end  of  the  following  year. 
Its  total  length  was  one  thousand  five  hundred  and  twenty-four  feet, 
of  which  eight  hundred  and  sixty-four  feet  were  between  the  abutments 
of  an  old  and  insecure  bridge.  Parallel  walls,  filled  between,  were  built 
across  the  entire  distance  with  the  exception  of  sixty-five  feet  over  the 
river  channel  which  was  provided  with  a  drawbridge.  Originally  the 
cost  was  estimated  at  eighty  thousand  dollars.  Passengers  between 
Newport  and  Boston  previously  needed  two  days  for  the  trip  by  way 
of  Providence  but,  after  the  bridge  was  opened,  could  go  in  one  day  by 
way  of  Fall  River  and  Taunton. 

[325] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

This  corporation  had  a  good  idea  of  the  conditions  necessary  to 
produce  business,  for  it  early  proposed  the  construction  of  a  public  road 
to  connect  its  turnpike  with  the  Tiverton  Print  Works,  only  asking  in 
return  that  it  might  include  the  cost  of  such  road  in  its  capitalization. 
That  construction  was  slow  is  seen  from  the  act  passed  in  June,  1839, 
by  which  it  was  provided  that,  when  the  road  was  finished  as  far  south 
as  the  "  old  road  by  Earl  B.  Anthony's  store,"  and  the  branch  to  the 
Print  Works  was  completed,  one  gate  might  be  erected  and  tolls  col- 
lected. But  no  dividends  were  to  be  paid  until  the  whole  turnpike  was 
finished. 

Anthony's  store  stood  on  the  southwest  corner  of  the  present  Globe 
and  South  Main  streets,  and  the  Tiverton  Print  Works  were  on  the 
northerly  side  of  Globe  Street,  from  which  it  appears  that  the  building 
of  a  public  road  as  a  feeder  really  meant  the  repairing  and  maintaining 
of  Globe  Street,  which  had  probably  existed  as  an  old  lane  for  many 
years. 

The  portion  of  the  turnpike  within  the  present  limits  of  Rhode 
Island,  lying  close  along  the  shore  of  the  Bay,  occupied  the  natural 
location  for  the  coming  railroad,  and  was  appropriated  for  the  laying 
of  its  track  by  the  Newport  and  Fall  River  Railroad  Company  in  1862. 
The  Fall  River  city  records,  under  date  of  March  2,  1863,  show  a 
peculiar  disposition  of  the  Massachusetts  portion  of  the  turnpike,  it 
being  ordered: 

That  so  much -of  the  road,  known  as  the  Fall  River  and  Stone  Bridge  Turnpike, 
as  is  within  the  limits  of  the  city,  be  regarded  as  a  Public  Highway  so  long  as  for 
public  travel,  its  free  use  is  allowed  and  that  it  be  in  charge  of  the  Superintendent 
of  Streets  and  Highways,  and  repaired  as  are  others  of  the  city. 

A  satisfactory  disposition,  no  doubt,  and  one  not  likely  to  be  disturbed, 
but  it  makes  Bay  Street  interesting  as  a  street  which  is  "  regarded  as  a 
Public  Highway,"  without  being  definitely  so  laid  out. 

This  road,  too,  was  affected  by  the  adjustment  of  the  boundary  be- 
tween Massachusetts  and  Rhode  Island  in  1861,  the  same  being  shifted 
from  the  northerly  end  of  the  turnpike  to  a  point  about  two  miles 
farther  south. 

Forty-three  turnpike  corporations  were  created  by  the  Rhode  Island 
assembly.  Besides  the  thirty-two  which  have  been  noted  in  the  preced- 
ing pages  the  following  were  formed,  but  it  does  not  appear  that  any 
of  them  built  a  road. 

1824    Cumberland S.   Arnold's  in   Smithfield  to   Manville 

thence  northerly  to  Mendon  Road. 

1827  Worcester Friends'  meeting-house  in  Smithfield  to 

Massachusetts   line    near    Blackstone 
Village. 

1 828  Foster  Branch Connecticut     line     northeasterly     about 

four    miles    to    Foster    and    Scituate 
Central  Turnpike. 

[326] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    RHODE    ISLAND 

1830    Woonsocket  Falls Woonsocket  Falls  to  Loisquisset  Turn- 
pike. 

Foster  Valley From  Foster  and  Scituate  Turnpike  at 

Hopkins  Mills  to  Connecticut  line. 

1836    Worcester Massachusetts  line  in  Cumberland  to  the 

Blackstone  River;  down  that  river  to 
Crook  Fall  River  Valley;  through 
said  valley  to  the  Great  Road  in 
Smithfield. 
Moshassock  Southerly  end  of  the  Worcester  Turn- 
pike to  Scott's  Pond. 

1842    Peacedale Peacedale  to  Narragansett  Pier. 

1853    Pawtuxet  Plank  Road Providence  to  Pawtuxet  Village. 

1856    Silver  Hook  Road Near  the  present  Silver  Hook  Bridge. 

1859    The  River  Road From    High    Street    in    Central    Falls 

northerly  through  Valley  Falls,  Lons- 
dale, Ashton,  Albion,  and  Manville, 
to  the  road  from  Manville  to  Woon- 
socket. A  branch  to  Granite  Ledge 
on  Sayles  Hill  in  Smithfield. 


[327] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  CONNECTICUT 


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3IT33HI/IOD 


THE   TURNPIKES  OF  CONNECTICUT 

ALL  parts  of  the  state  being  within  easy  distance  of  the  salt  water, 
/\  Connecticut  was  settled  throughout  its  extent  at  a  very  early 
X  A.  date  and,  according  to  the  census  of  1790,  then  possessed  a 
density  of  population  which  had  not  been  equaled  in  1910  by  Maine, 
New  Hampshire,  or  Vermont.  Such  being  the  case  it  is  but  natural 
that  roads  existed  in  all  directions,  connecting  all  the  towns  with  each 
other  and  leaving  little  room  in  which  a  new  route  for  a  turnpike  could 
be  projected.  Previous  comments  on  early  New  England  roads  are 
fully  applicable  here,  and  the  wretched  condition  of  such  roads  as  were 
in  use  is  amply  demonstrated  by  the  fact  that,  in  this  small  state,  one 
hundred  and  twenty-one  franchises  for  turnpike  improvement  were 
granted  between  the  years  1795  and  1853,  the  larger  part  of  which 
resulted  in  development.  In  consequence  of  there  being  roads  of  some 
quality  wherever  needed,  nearly  all  the  turnpike  charters  issued  in  Con- 
necticut were  for  the  improvement  of  a  road  previously  existing  but 
which  the  neighboring  inhabitants  were  unable  to  maintain  in  proper 
order.  Owing  to  the  lack  of  turnpike  characteristics  due  to  the  new 
roads  following  the  lines  of  the  old,  it  has  often  been  difficult  to  deter- 
mine which  of  various  roads  was  the  one  improved  by  the  turnpike 
system. 

Connecticut  in  its  early  efforts  tried  the  method  of  Charles  II,  under 
which  the  maintenance  of  a  road  was  sought  from  those  using  it,  and 
erected  tollgates  at  two  places  on  the  Old  Post  Road  from  Boston  to 
New  York,  vainly  hoping  that  the  receipts  thus  collected  would  be  suffi- 
cient for  the  annual  repairs  of  the  road.  Only  in  the  case  of  the 
Mohegan  Road  was  this  method  continued. 

Next  the  plan  of  granting  the  right  to  make  such  improvements  to 
private  investors  under  the  form  of  corporations  was  adopted,  but  in 
this  Connecticut  failed  to  realize  the  great  improvement  made  in 
America  over  the  English  practice  and  formed  its  turnpike  corporations 
along  the  lines  of  the  English  turnpike  trusts. 

Under  the  idea  that  the  turnpike  companies,  like  the  English  trusts, 
assumed  a  road  already  laid  out  and  were  not  bound  to  build  anything 
but  a  road,  the  towns  through  which  turnpikes  were  projected  were 
obliged  to  purchase  and  pay  for  the  land  needed  for  a  new  road,  or 
for  alterations  in  an  old  one,  and  to  build  all  the  necessary  bridges. 
Consequently  much  hostility  was  caused  against  all  turnpike  companies, 
and  many  towns  were  seriously  strained  in  their  financial  resources. 

[33i] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   NEW   ENGLAND 

In  some  cases  a  new  turnpike  was  laid  out  on  petition  of  the  local 
residents  who  needed  it.  Then  a  committee  would  be  appointed  by  the 
assembly  to  view  the  route  and  lay  out  the  road,  reporting  the  same 
with  recommendations  as  to  the  method  of  building  it.  If  the  assembly 
saw  fit  to  accept  the  report  it  would  do  so,  and  then  declare  the  road  laid 
out  as  a  public  highway  "  subject  to  a  bill,"  which  meant  that  the  layout 
was  not  to  take  effect  until  a  turnpike  corporation  was  formed  which 
would  undertake  the  construction.  Many  of  these  layouts  are  recorded 
in  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  state  in  Hartford.  Often  a  layout  covers 
much  more  ground  than  the  subsequently  formed  corporation  was  will- 
ing to  assume,  and  sometimes  one  has  to  look  for  two  corporations  to 
account  for  one  committee's  action. 

Similar  procedure  was  followed  when  a  group  of  investors  had  them- 
selves selected  a  route  over  which  they  wished  to  open  a  new  road. 
Upon  their  petition  a  committee  would  be  appointed,  which  would  lay 
out  the  road  and  advise  as  to  the  number  and  location  of  the  tollgates 
which  were  to  be  allowed  upon  it.  The  corporation  then  was  usually 
formed  immediately  after  the  acceptance  of  the  report. 

When  a  group  of  turnpike  promoters  had  selected  an  old  road  on 
which  they  desired  to  make  their  investment,  they  would  petition  the 
assembly  asking  that  that  road  might  be  given  them  in  return  for  their 
advancing  the  money  to  put  it  in  sufficient  repair  and  that  they  might 
have  the  further  privilege  of  collecting  tolls  from  all  traveling  over  it. 
If  the  road  was  recorded  as  a  properly  laid  out  public  highway  the 
charter  of  the  new  company  would  describe  it  as  it  appeared  upon  the 
records,  and  then  declare  it  discontinued  as  a  public  road.  Next  a 
corporation  would  be  formed  for  the  purpose  of  reconstructing  the 
route  and  opening  a  turnpike  and  operating  the  same  thereafter.  A 
bond  was  usually  required  to  guarantee  that  the  promoters  would  pro- 
ceed in  good  faith  and  carry  out  the  purposes  of  their  incorporation. 

In  many  cases  the  old  road,  or  roads,  were  so  crooked  that  the  altera- 
tions due  to  building  a  direct  route  practically  constituted  new  locations, 
and  in  such  cases  the  county  court,  and  sometimes  the  assembly,  would 
make  the  layout  in  the  form  customary  for  public  roads,  describing  the 
new  route  and  declaring  the  same  laid  out  as  a  public  highway.  Then  the 
assembly  would  undo  the  public  dedication,  declare  the  road  discon- 
tinued, and  give  it  to  the  turnpike  company. 

Except  as  above  the  Connecticut  practice  differed  little  from  that  of 
the  other  New  England  states.  Every  corporation  was  the  result  of  a 
special  legislative  act  and  the  tolls  of  each  were  prescribed  separately. 
The  usual  list  of  exemptions  is  found  in  all  cases,  favoring  the  church- 
goers, the  members  of  the  militia,  and  those  doing  business  with  the 
local  mills.  No  general  laws  were  ever  enacted  for  the  organization 
of  turnpike  corporations  nor  to  simplify  their  incorporation,  but  early 
acts  established  laws  for  the  government  of  companies  operating  roads. 

The  first  of  these,  enacted  in  1803,  was  apparently  experimental,  as 
[332] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 

it  was  only  to  remain)  in  force  for  three  years,  but  with  slight  modifica- 
tions it  was  permanently  renewed  at  the  expiration  of  that  time.  For 
each  turnpike  in  the  state  three  commissioners  were  to  be  appointed 
for  the  purpose  of  watching  that  road  and  seeing  that  it  was  kept  in 
good  order.  As  found  in  the  Revised  Statutes  of  1835  this  law  pro- 
vided for  two  commissioners  appointed  by  the  senate,  who  were  re- 
quired to  inspect  their  road  at  least  once  a  year.  When  they  saw  fit  to 
order  repairs  they  were  empowered  to  open  the  gates  until  their  orders 
had  been  obeyed.  They  could  fix  a  limit  of  the  time  within  which  compli- 
ance with  their  orders  should  be  made  and,  if  the  corporation  neglected 
for  a  month  after  that  to  make  the  repairs,  the  general  assembly  could 
declare  the  charter  forfeited.  The  commissioners  had  to  examine  the 
books  and  accounts  of  the  company  and  make  report  to  the  assembly 
on  a  form  prescribed  by  an  act  of  1804.  For  their  arduous  labors  they 
were  allowed  the  sum  of  two  dollars  per  diem,  paid  by  the  corporation 
over  which  they  were  set.  These  laws  are  interesting  as  being  the  first 
instances  of  public-service  commissions. 

The  early  Connecticut  corporations  were  chartered  with  no  other 
limit  to  their  corporate  lives  than  the  one  which  provided  the  repeal 
when  the  original  investment,  plus  twelve  per  cent,  had  been  repaid.  As 
the  failure  of  turnpikes  became  evident  it  was  realized  that  those  com- 
panies were  perpetually  chartered,  and  an  effort  was  made  by  the  as- 
sembly of  1835  to  secure  the  right  to  repeal  such  franchises.  An  act 
was  then  passed  which  allowed: 

( 1 )  All  existing  gates  might  remain  where  they  were  with  the  con- 
sent of  the  road's  commissioners  and  one  court  judge. 

(2)  The  location  of  gates  which  had  been  moved  was  confirmed 
and  collections  of  accounts  at  such  gates  was  allowed. 

(3)  The  commissioners  "and  a  judge  might  change  any  gates  after 
having  given  a  public  hearing. 

(4)  The  charter  of  all  companies  which  accepted  the  terms  of  this 
act  were  made  subject  to  repeal  by  the  assembly;  and  all  companies 
which  did  accept  were  obliged  to  formally  vote  to  do  so  and  file  a  record 
of  such  vote  with  the  secretary  of  state. 

It  is  hard  to  see  that  any  additional  privileges  were  granted  by  this 
act,  and  one  wonders  why  any  company  should  have  seen  fit  to  accept 
it  at  the  price  specified,  but  ten  companies  are  on  record  in  the  secretary 
of  state's  office  as  having  so  voted. 

Several  more  sections  of  general  law  for  turnpikes  are  found  in  the 
compilation  made  in  1835,  among  them  the  wise  provision  that  any 
corporation  could  enter  upon  adjoining  land  for  the  purpose  of  making 
such  drains  as  were  necessary  to  keep  the  roadbed  dry.  Contracts  with 
frequent  or  heavy  travelers  were  allowed  as  might  be  mutually  agreed. 
Double  tolls  might  be  recovered  in  action  against  anyone  who  had 
evaded  payment,  in  which  event  double  costs  of  court  were  also  assessed. 
Many  disputes  had  arisen  over  the  responsibility  for  the  bridges,  in 

[333] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

cases  where  the  company  had  gone  ahead  with  the  erection  of  one,  look- 
ing to  the  town  to  pay  later.  To  settle  such  it  had  been  enacted  that, 
wherever  a  company  had  built  a  bridge  which  was  not  definitely  stated 
in  the  act  of  incorporation  as  one  which  the  town  should  build,  such 
bridge  should  be  the  corporation's,  and  the  corporation  should  main- 
tain it. 

The  early  exemptions  from  toll  had  included  all  those 

going  to  or  returning  from  mill  for  the  use  of  their  families,  or  passing  to  attend 
their  ordinary  farm  business.  .  .  . 

This  also  had  caused  disputes  and  a  law  had  been  passed  by  which  no 
one  traveling  a  distance  in  excess  of  four  miles  could  lay  claim  to  ex- 
emption under  that  clause.  Seven  dollars'  penalty  was  laid  upon  a  toll 
gatherer  who  collected  excess  tolls. 

In  1837  it  was  provided  that  executions  against  a  turnpike,  or  toll- 
bridge,  company  might  be  collected  by  the  judge's  putting  a  receiver 
in  charge  of  one  or  more  gates  to  collect  the  tolls  for  the  benefit  of  the 
creditor  until  the  debt  was  canceled. 

An  improvement  over  the  laws  of  other  states  was  secured  in  1844 
when  it  was  enacted  that  any  town  might,  upon  the  neglect  of  a  corpora- 
tion to  keep  its  road  in  repair,  do  the  necessary  work  itself  and  collect 
the  cost  from  the  company.  To  hasten  payment  no  tolls  were  allowed 
while  the  debt  was  unpaid. 

A  law  by  which  any  corporation  could  unload  its  road  upon  the  towns 
traversed  was  passed  in  1854,  and  forfeiture  of  the  franchise  was  estab- 
lished as  the  penalty  for  neglecting  repairs  about  the  same  time.  Vari- 
ous modifications  of  the  same  appeared  in  the  next  twenty  years. 


THE    MOHEGAN    ROAD 

The  road  through  the  Mohegan's  country,  connecting  New  London 
with  Norwich,  was  first  laid  out  in  1670  by  Joshua  Raymond,  who  was 
paid  for  opening  the  highway  by  the  grant  of  a  farm  on  the  route. 
Miss  Caulkins'  "  History  of  Norwich  "  tells  us  that  it  was  little  more 
than  an  Indian  trail  for  over  a  century,  having  numerous  windings, 
fords,  and  precipitous  hills.  The  travel  over  it  was  chiefly  by  those  on 
horseback  or  in  oxcarts.  In  1789  an  association  was  formed  to  effect 
improvements  in  the  old  road,  and  a  lottery  authorized  by  the  legisla- 
ture was  drawn  in  Norwich  in  June,  1791,  to  assist  in  the  work.  Evi- 
dently a  great  deal  of  work  was  accomplished,  for  the  distance  between 
the  two  towns  was  materially  reduced,  and  where  the  journey  twice 
over  the  road  had  seldom  been  performed  in  a  single  day,  after  the 
improvements  it  could  easily  be  done  in  four  hours. 

Such  blessings  seemed  to  the  general  assembly  worth  paying  for 
and,  in  May,  1792,  an  act  was  passed  establishing  a  tollgate,  the  second 

[334] 


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■  -'  '  1       .   * 
*1 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 

in  America  and  the  first  in  New  England,  on  the  newly  made  old  road. 
Tolls  were  specified  in  old  currency,  ninepence  being  levied  on  a  four- 
wheeled  pleasure  carriage,  and  threepence  on  a  loaded  wagon  or  cart, 
while  a  "  man  and  horse  "  paid  only  a  penny.  The  proceeds  of  the  tolls 
were  to  be  devoted  to  the  repair  and  maintenance  of  the  road,  chiefly 
in  the  Mohegan  Reservation.  The  road  soon  became  an  important 
thoroughfare  and  a  heavy  traffic  in  cattle  and  produce  passed  over  it 
on  the  way  to  the  deep  water  docks  of  New  London,  there  to  be  shipped 
abroad. 

Early  repairs  seem  to  have  been  needed,  for  we  find  that  the  com- 
missioners had  felt  obliged  to  advance  from  their  own  funds  four  hun- 
dred dollars  in  addition  to  the  toll  collections,  and  an  act  in  1805 
allowed  them  to  practically  double  the  tolls  until  they  were  repaid. 

The  road  under  charge  of  the  commissioners  and  subject  to  toll  was 
extended  in  1806  to  "Norwich  Landing,"  from  a  point  a  little  south- 
erly from  "Trading  Cove  Bridge,"  and  in  1812,  to  the  courthouse  in 
Norwich. 

In  1824,  for  some  reason,  it  was  enacted  that  three  tenths  of  the  net 
proceeds  of  the  toll  collections  at  the  gate  in  Montville  should  be  paid 
to  the  town  of  Waterford.  By  this  it  need  not  be  inferred  that  there 
was  more  than  one  gate,  for  the  indications  are  that  there  was  not. 
Apparently  on  account  of  the  strangeness  of  giving  money  collected  in 
one  town  to  another,  it  was  made  clear  that  such  was  the  intention. 
This  division  continued  until  about  1837,  after  which  all  net  proceeds 
were  required  to  be  spent  on  repairs,  chiefly  on  that  part  passing  through 
the  reservation. 

The  New  London,  Willimantic,  and  Palmer  Railroad,  now  the  Cen- 
tral Vermont,  opened  its  iron  road  parallel  to  the  Mohegan  Road  in 
1849,  with  the  usual  result  that  toll  collections  ceased  soon  after. 

By  act  of  the  general  assembly  the  gate  was  abolished  July  3,  1852. 

About  1900  the  Montville  Street  Railway  opened  its  line  between 
New  London  and  Norwich,  following  in  large  part  the  lines  of  the  old 
Mohegan  Road.  The  trip  over  this  line  has  ever  since  been  deservedly 
popular  for,  aside  from  the  historic  associations,  the  pilgrim  is  well 
repaid  with  beautiful  scenery. 

The  Mohegan  Road  was  never  owned  by  a  corporation  but  was 
managed  throughout  by  commissioners  in  the  interest  of  the  road  itself. 
In  this  it  stands  alone  among  all  early  American  roads  as  the  only  one 
operated  throughout  in  accordance  with  the  principles  established  by 
Charles  II,  in  1663. 

THE   GREENWICH    ROAD 

In  October,  1792,  the  general  assembly  established  a  gate  on  the 
"  main  County  or  stage  road  in  the  town  of  Greenwich,"  the  same  to 
be  erected  by  commissioners  acting  in  behalf  of  the  county  and  the  pro- 

[335] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF   NEW    ENGLAND 


ceeds  to  be  applied  to  the  maintenance  of  the  road.  Thus  was  created 
the  third  tollgate  in  America.  This  was  an  effort  to  improve  the  con- 
ditions which  we  have  already  noticed  in  the  New  York  Advertiser's 
statement  of  the  road  along  the  Sound  being  "  rough,  rocky,  and  un- 
comfortable "  and  often  impassable  for  wheeled  vehicles.  The  road 
affected  was  a  part  of  the  Old  Post  Road  between  Boston  and  New 
York,  a  route  which  had  been  in  use  then  for  over  a  century,  and  which 
formed  a  part  of  the  journey  of  Madam  Knight.  As  nothing  was  re- 
quired beyond  the  erection  of  the  gate,  the  road  already  being  there, 
it  seems  certain  that  the  road  promptly  became  a  toll  road,  although 
further  information  has  not  been  found. 

The  Connecticut  Turnpike  Company,  formed  in  1806,  was  a  much 
more  extended  proposition  and  was  allowed  to  absorb  the  Old  Post 
Road  and  its  tollgate,  of  which  more  in  its  turn. 


THE  NEW  LONDON  AND  WINDHAM  COUNTY  TURNPIKE 

This  road  followed  the  Old  Post  Road  and  formed  a  continuation 
of  the  road  of  the  Providence  and  Norwich  Society,  etc.,  of  which  we 
have  already  read  as  existing  in  Rhode  Island.  In  the  effort  to  improve 
the  condition  of  traveling  over  this  route,  the  Connecticut  assembly  in 
October,  1794,  at  the  same  time  that  the  Rhode  Island  corporation  was 
chartered,  authorized  the  county  to  erect  a  tollgate  on  the  road,  the 
proceeds  from  which  were  to  be  devoted  to  the  proper  maintenance  of 
the  highway.  But  a  condition  was  attached  that  the  gate  should  not  be 
erected  until  the  road  was  first  put  in  good  repair.  That  proved  too 
much  of  a  burden  and  improvements  waited  until  the  next  spring,  when 
a  corporation  was  formed  to  do  the  work. 

In  May,  1795,  the  New  London  and  Windham  County  Society  re- 
ceived a  franchise  to  build  a  turnpike  from  Norwich  to  the  Rhode  Island 
line,  through  Norwich,  Lisbon,  Preston,  Plainfield,  and  Sterling.  One 
gate  was  allowed  within  ten  miles  of  Norwich  courthouse  and  another 
within  five  miles  of  the  Rhode  Island  line.  That  the  road  was  im- 
proved in  reasonably  prompt  time  is  seen  from  the  passage  of  an  act, 
in  1 801,  by  which  changes  in  the  rates  of  toll  were  allowed. 

The  New  London  and  Windham  County  Turnpike  evidently  started 
from  Norwich  and  followed  up  the  westerly  bank  of  the  Shetucket  River 
as  far  as  the  confluence  with  the  Quinebaug,  above  which  it  crossed 
the  first-named  stream,  and  on  the  bridge  thus  necessitated  erected  its 
tollgate.  Thence  it  followed  up  the  valley  of  the  Quinebaug  to  Plain- 
field  Center,  from  which  place  it  struck  an  easterly  course  and  joined 
the  Rhode  Island  road  at  what  is  now  Oneco  Station  on  the  railroad 
between  Providence  and  Willimantic. 

Sometime  prior  to  1808  the  gate  near  the  Rhode  Island  line  was 
moved  to  another  location  without  formality  and  the  assembly,  at  its 
[336] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 

October  session  in  1808,  ordered  it  put  back  at  once  and  forbade  the 
collection  of  tolls  until  it  was  done. 

In  May,  1836,  the  right  to  collect  tolls  from  those  passing  over  the 
Shetucket  River  bridge  was  taken  from  the  company. 

Operation  as  a  turnpike  was  continued  for  fifty-five  years  at  least 
for,  in  1849,  a  relocation  around  Bundy's  Hill,  in  Lisbon,  was  approved 
by  the  assembly  and  a  new  gate  location  was  allowed,  but  no  record 
has  yet  been  found  to  show  when  the  entire  road  became  free  to  the 
public. 

THE   OXFORD   TURNPIKE 

The  Oxford  Turnpike  Company  was  formed  at  the  May  session  of 
1795  and  given  authority  to  open  a  road  from  Southbury  to  Derby. 
This  was  clearly  a  privilege  of  improving  a  previously  existing  road 
for  the  charter  stated  that  the  incorporators  were  to  be  allowed  to  erect 
their  gate  as  soon  as  they  had  expended  seven  hundred  pounds'  lawful 
money. 

In  considering  the  territory  which  this  road  was  to  serve  it  must  be 
borne  in  mind  that  Derby,  at  that  date,  was  a  much  larger  town,  terri- 
torially, than  it  is  to-day.  Old  Derby  included  the  present  towns  of 
Seymour,  Beacon  Falls,  and  Oxford,  and  the  terminal  proposed  for  the 
turnpike  was  not  the  present  village  of  Derby,  but  one  of  the  villages 
of  the  old  town,  which  is  now  known  as  Seymour,  and  then  was  called 
Chusetown.  But  a  change  was  made  in  the  plan,  for  Orcutt  and  Beards- 
ley  tell  us  in  their  "  History  of  Derby,"  that  when  first  constructed  the 
turnpike  did  not  come  quite  to  the  village  of  Chusetown,  but  turned 
from  the  Little  River  some  distance  above  its  mouth,  over  the  hill  and 
up  the  Naugatuck  River,  crossing  at  Pines  Bridge  and  joining  the  turn- 
pike from  Naugatuck  to  New  Haven  on  Beacon  Brook.  As  constructed 
the  turnpike  seems  to  be  about  the  same  as  the  present  main  road  to 
Southbury. 

This  road  was  built  about  the  time  that  New  Haven  was  building 
the  long  wharf  by  which  it  was  hoped  to  make  that  city  a  port  of  entry, 
and  soon  after  there  was  a  large  trade  for  many  miles  around,  much  of 
it  coming  over  the  Oxford  Turnpike.1 

An  act  of  1797  allowed  the  company  to  pass  free  "the  stage  to 
Massachusetts,"  which  leaves  rather  a  confused  idea  of  the  route  fol- 
lowed by  that  stage,  and  the  terminal  town  in  Massachusetts,  for  the 
location  and  direction  of  the  turnpike  do  not  seem  favorable  for  such 
traveling. 

Tolls  were  collected  on  this  old  road  for  nearly  ninety  years,  and 
the  turnpike  was  finally  made  free  sometime  between  1880  and  1887. 

1  "Seymour  Past  and  Present,"  Campbell,  Sharpe,  and  Bassett. 


[337] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF   NEW    ENGLAND 


HARTFORD   TO    NORWICH   TURNPIKE 

The  Hartford,  New  London,  Windham,  and  Tolland  County  Turn- 
pike Society  was  the  full  name  of  the  corporation  which  built  this  road, 
receiving  its  charter  from  the  October  session  in  1795.  Its  route  was 
thus  described : 

from  the  city  of  Hartford  to  the  city  of  Norwich,  from  the  court-house  in  Hartford 
to  the  court-house  in  Norwich. 

It  may  be  interesting  to  note  that  Hartford  and  Norwich,  with  three 
other  Connecticut  towns,  were  incorporated  as  cities  in  January,  1784, 
thirty-eight  years  before  that  degree  was  conferred  upon  Boston. 

On  this  road  of  about  twenty-seven  miles'  length,  two  tollgates  were 
allowed,  to  be  located  between  East  Hartford  and  Joshua  Hyde's  house 
in  Franklin.  The  first  meeting  was  to  be  held  in  Coventry.  Considera- 
tion of  the  project  during  the  succeeding  winter  evidently  showed  the 
promoters  that  they  had  a  difficult  problem  on  their  hands,  for  they 
sought  the  assembly  in  the  following  May  and  secured  a  modification 
of  their  franchise  so  that  they  were  only  bound  to  build  from  White's 
Monument  in  Bolton  to  Joshua  Hyde's  in  Franklin,  thus  avoiding  the 
question  of  a  means  of  crossing  the  Connecticut  River  at  Hartford  and 
being  relieved  of  construction  through  the  compact  portions  of  the  two 
terminal  cities. 

The  road  was  built,  by  which  term  in  Connecticut  we  mean  that  it 
was  improved  from  its  pioneer  crudity  to  a  form  to  justify  the  collection 
of  tolls,  but  built  in  rather  a  shoddy  way,  for  we  learn  that  in  1800  com- 
plaint was  made  to  the  assembly  that  the  corporation  was  not  keeping 
it  in  proper  repair.  A  committee  was  appointed  to  investigate,  but  the 
company  got  busy  and  had  its  road  in  satisfactory  shape  when  the 
legislators  arrived,  so  a  favorable  report  was  made. 

Joshua  Hyde  was  born  in  Norwich  in  1756,  and  after  his  marriage 
with  Cynthia  Tracy,  in  1779,  settled  in  that  part  of  Norwich  which  was 
later  set  off  as  Franklin.  His;  house  stood  about  a  mile  above  Yantic, 
where  the  Franklin  and  the  Lebanon  roads  come  together,  and  almost 
on  the  boundary  line  between  Franklin  and  Bozrah.  He  was  a  promi- 
nent man  in  his  day,  representing  his  town  in  the  assembly  and  serving 
as  a  member  of  the  constitutional  convention  of  1818.  He  ctyed  in 
Franklin  in  1830. 


THE   NORWALK   AND    DANBURY   TURNPIKE 

The  turnpike  connecting  Norwalk  and  Danbury  extended  from  Semi 
Pog  Brook  in  Danbury  to  Belden's  Bridge  in  Norwalk,  the  improve- 
ments being  made  by  the  Norwalk  and  Danbury  Turnpike  Company 
which  was  created  by  act  of  the  October  session  of  1795.  This  road  is 
[338] 


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THE   TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 

known  to-day  as  the  old  turnpike  and  extends  almost  directly  from  one 
terminal  to  the  other,  passing  through  South  Wilton,  Wilton,  George- 
town, and  Topstone. 

In  1800  the  company  was  permitted  to  make  contracts  "to  pass  by 
the  year  "  with  anyone  living  within  three  quarters  of  a  mile  of  a  gate. 
Apparently  the  business  had  not  prospered  by  1802,  for  the  privilege 
of  taking  tolls  had  been  taken  away  and  the  assembly  came  to  the  relief 
of  the  harassed  corporation  by  decreeing  that  it  might  renew  collections 
when  it  had  repaired  the  road. 

The  Norwalk  and  Danbury  was  about  eighteen  miles  in  length,  but 
only  one  gate  was  allowed  to  be  erected. 


TURNPIKE    FROM    BETHEL   TO   WESTON 

In  May,  1797,  the  Fairfield,  Weston,  and  Reading  Turnpike  Com- 
pany was  incorporated  to  improve  the  road  from  the  meeting-house  in 
Bethel  in  Danbury  to  a  point  in  Weston.  An  act  relative  to  tolls  shows 
that  the  road  was  in  operation  in  1801. 

This  turnpike  continued  in  active  life  until  1834,  when  the  portion 
between  Bethel  and  Wild  Cat  Road  was  thrown  open  to  the  public. 
The  balance  continued  in  private  control  for  four  years  longer,  when 
the  charter  was  repealed  in  May,  1838. 


THE   SAUGATUCK  TURNPIKE   COMPANY 

Many  of  the  references  to  the  turnpikes  of  Connecticut  refer  to  the 
Saugatuck  Turnpike  as  an  accomplished  fact,  but  it  was  never  built. 
The  Saugatuck  Turnpike  Company  was  incorporated  in  October,  1797, 
and  given  a  franchise  to  build  a  turnpike  road  from  Dragon  Bridge 
to  Byram  River,  including  a  section  from  Fairfield  to  Norwalk  over 
Saquituck  River  and  Sasco  Creek,  such  a  route  having  been  laid  out  by 
the  assembly  a  year  earlier. 

In  May,  1798,  practically  the  entire  franchise  was  repealed,  and  a 
new  layout  was  made  for  the  part  crossing  the  Saquituck  River  and  the 
creek.  The  towns  of  Fairfield  and  Norwalk  were  then  required  to  build 
the  bridge  and  its  approaches,  being  allowed  the  privilege  of  collecting 
tolls  on  the  same.  In  May,  1800,  the  two  towns,  having  completed  the 
new  bridge,  were  allowed  to  discontinue  the  old  one  which  lay  about 
eighty  rods  up-stream  from  its  successor. 

In  the  report  of  the  committee  which  laid  out  the  road  for  the 
Connecticut  Turnpike  Company,  dated  May  18,  1806,  we  may  read: 

The  toll  bridge  at  Saugatuck  was  built  in  1799,  is  twenty  feet  wide  from  outside 
to  outside  of  the  railing  and  thirty-eight  rods  long,  and  cost  about  one  thousand  dol- 
lars. The  toll  is  about  half  the  toll  at  a  turnpike-gate  and  is  let  for  two  hundred 
dollars  annually.    The  bridge  has  hitherto  required  and  still  requires  all  the  toll  to 

[339] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

be  expended  in  repairs  and  probably  must  be  rebuilt  in  the  course  of  six  or  eight 
years  from  this  time. 

The  above,  considered  with  the  fact  that  the  franchise  of  the  Con- 
necticut Turnpike  Company  covered  almost  exactly  the  same  route, 
seems  to  satisfactorily  dispose  of  any  question  of  the  failure  of  the 
Saugatuck  Turnpike  to  materialize. 

THE   STRAITS   TURNPIKE 

The  thirty-six  miles  between  New  Haven  and  Litchfield  were  cov- 
ered by  the  road  built  by  the  Straits  Turnpike  Company,  which  was 
incorporated  in  October,  1797,  the  franchise  reading  from  courthouse 
to  courthouse.  Watrous,  in  his  contribution  to  the  "  History  of  New 
Haven,"  says  that  the  road  ran  through  the  westerly  part  of  New 
Haven  and  the  village  of  Westville,  then  called  Hotchkisstown,  where 
it  was  later  joined  by  the  Rimmon  Falls  Turnpike. 

The  name  of  "  Straits  "  was  derived  from  a  section  along  the  road 
which  had  long  borne  that  name  and  which  was  thus  described  by  a 
writer  in  the  early  thirties. 

About  fourteen  miles  from  New  Haven  the  main  road  to  Waterbury  passes  by 
Beacon  Mountain,  a  rude  ridge  of  almost  naked  rock  stretching  south-west.  At  this 
place  is  Collins'  tavern,  long  known  as  an  excellent  public  house,  and  the  Straits- 
ville  post  office.  About  half  a  mile  south  of  Mr.  Collins's  the  road  passes  through 
a  narrow  defile  formed  by  a  gap  in  the  mountain,  barely  sufficient  in  width  for  a 
road  and  a  small  but  sprightly  brook  which  winds  through  the  narrow  passage.  On 
both  sides  the  cliffs  are  lofty,  particularly  on  the  west;  on  the  east,  at  a  little  dis- 
tance from  the  road,  they  overhang  in  a  threatening  manner.1 

The  first  meeting  of  the  corporation  was  held  in  the  house  of  Irijah 
Terrill,  in  Waterbury,  in  November,  1797.  Much  controversy  arose 
over  the  location  of  the  turnpike  as  Waterbury  citizens  wanted  it  to 
pass  through  the  center  of  their  town,  while  the  people  of  Watertown 
made  similar  demands  for  their  district.  Anderson's  "  History  of 
Waterbury  "  tells  that  a  great  deal  of  bitterness  was  bred  of  the  con- 
tention, which  we  can  imagine  was  not  appeased  when  the  final  con- 
struction left  Waterbury  well  to  one  side.  The  turnpike  crossed  Nau- 
gatuck  River  on  Salem  Bridge,  so  called  from  its  location  in  Salem 
Society,  the  early  name  of  Naugatuck.  The  town  of  Salem  is  in  a  part 
of  the  state  remote  from  the  Naugatuck  River  and  had  no  connection 
with  the  naming  of  this  bridge. 

Bronson's  "  History  of  Waterbury  "  recites  that  the  first  bridge  over 
the  Naugatuck  at  Salem  Society  was  built  by  the  town  of  Waterbury  in 
1736  and  was  washed  away  in  the  winter  of  1740-41.  In  1743  the 
town,  groaning  under  the  expense  of  maintaining  the  structure,  peti- 
tioned the  assembly  to  be  allowed  to  collect  tolls  for  passage  across  the 
river.    Whether  that  was  allowed  or  not  is  not  known,  but  if  not,  it  was 

1  "Connecticut  Historical  Collections,"  J.  W.  Barber. 
C340] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 


conceded  later,  for  the  bridge  was  a  toll  bridge  in  1761.  Repairs  at  a 
cost  of  eighty  pounds  were  made  in  1748-49. 

The  Salem  Bridge,  known  as  the  Naugatuck  Bridge  in  later  years, 
soon  became  a  bone  of  contention  between  the  town  of  Waterbury  and 
the  turnpike  corporation.  First  the  company,  tiring  of  waiting  for  the 
town  to  act,  made  some  necessary  repairs  and  then  vainly  tried  to  collect 
pay  from  the  town  for  the  same.  After  several  years  the  bridge  was 
washed  away  and  the  town,  considering  the  fact  that  the  turnpike  com- 
pany sent  all  its  travelers  over  the  bridge  and  collected  its  tolls  on  or 
near  it,  refused  to  rebuild  and  sought  to  put  that  expense  on  the  corpora- 
tion. But  this  was  one  of  the  old  turnpikes,  and  its  franchise  had  not 
placed  the  burden  of  bridges  or  land  upon  it,  so  the  town  was  obliged 
to  provide  a  new  bridge.  That  in  its  turn  soon  followed  its  predecessor 
downstream,  and  again  the  town  sought  to  shift  the  burden  of 
rebuilding. 

Claiming  that  the  cause  of  the  last  catastrophe  was  a  dike  which  the 
corporation  had  built  a  short  distance  above  the  bridge  for  the  purpose 
of  protecting  its  road  where  it  crossed  the  low  ground,  the  town  brought 
suit  to  compel  the  company  to  pay  the  damages.  It  was  claimed  that  the 
dike  had  so  diverted  the  current  of  the  river  that  it  had  undermined  one 
of  the!  abutments,  causing  it  to  tip  and  launch  the  bridge  structure  into 
the  river.  But  again  the  town  was  a  loser  and  had  to  rebuild  the  bridge 
and  pay  the  costs. 

It  seems  remarkable  that  permission  should  have  been  necessary  for 
such  an  ordinary  matter,  but  we  find  that  in  May,  1806,  the  company 
secured  an  act  of  the  assembly  allowing  it  to  erect  houses  at  its  gates. 
Each  house  was  allowed  a  lot  of  land  not  to  exceed  five  acres,  but  the 
total  cost  of  house  and  land  was  not  to  be  more  than  seven  hundred 
dollars  in  each  case. 

The  Straits  Turnpike  was  operated  in  its  entirety  until  May,  1821, 
when  all  that  portion  between  Westville  and  New  Haven  was  made 
free.  How  long  the  balance  remained  a  toll  road  we  have  not 
ascertained. 


THE   NEW   MILFORD   AND   LITCHFIELD   TURNPIKE 

The  charter  granted  to  the  New  Milford  and  Litchfield  Turnpike 
Company  in  October,  1797,  allowed  it  to  open  its  road  from  the 
Friends'  meeting-house  in  New  Milford  to  some  forgotten  point  in 
Litchfield,  and  to  erect  two  gates  for  its  collections.  Construction  was 
not  rapid,  as  we  find  an  act  passed  in  1798,  allowing  collections  to  begin 
at  one  gate  when  the  road  was  completed  in  Litchfield,  but  by  the  end 
of  1800  the  entire  road  was  in  service.  The  allowed  tolls  were  found 
at  that  date  to  be  insufficient,  so  an  act  was  secured  by  which  they  were 
doubled. 

[34i] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF  NEW   ENGLAND 

The  original  turnpike  was  built  over  Mount  Tom  in  Litchfield,  and 
we  can  imagine  that  the  resulting  grade  was  a  trial  for  all  concerned, 
but  it  was  endured  for  nearly  half  a  century.  Then,  about  1841,  the 
towns  of  Litchfield  and  Washington  laid  out  a  section  of  road  passing 
east  and  southeast  of  Mount  Tom  and  having  the  turnpike  on  each  end. 
This  they  asked  the  corporation  to  construct,  take  over  as  a  part  of  its 
road,  and  discontinue  the  old  section  over  the  mountain.  An  accommo- 
dating assembly  gave  its  sanction,  but  the  corporation  was  slow  to  act, 
legislative  proceedings  being  observed  in  1843  and  1844,  extending  the 
time  within  which  the  relocation  should  be  made. 


THE   BOSTON   TURNPIKE 

The  middle  route  from  New  York  to  Boston,  over  which  President 
Washington  traveled  on  his  trip  in  1789,  ran  from  Hartford  to  the 
northeasterly  corner  of  Connecticut,  where  it  entered  the  neighboring 
Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts.  Travelers  over  this  route  were 
obliged  to  cross  the  Connecticut  River  between  Hartford  and  East 
Hartford  by  means  of  an  old  established  ferry. 

Goodwin's  "  East  Hartford  History  and  Traditions  "  gives  a  com- 
plete story  of  this  ferry,  and  from  it  we  learn  that  it  was  first  authorized 
by  a  lease  given  by  the  town  of  Hartford,  in  1681,  to  Thomas  Cadwell, 
who  operated  it,  collecting  tolls  fixed  by  the  town  for  seven  years,  after 
which  his  widow  continued  the  business  for  an  equal  length  of  time.  In 
1728,  apparently  to  make  the  operation  more  legal,  Hartford  secured 
from  the  assembly  a  charter  under  which  to  continue  the  ferry.  In 
1737  the  charter  was  renewed,  this  time  with  the  provision  that  the 
assembly  was  to  fix  the  rates  of  toll.  That  the  business  was  good  is 
seen  from  the  fact  that  the  proceeds  of  the  collections  were  sufficient 
in  1748  to  provide  firewood  for  the  town  schools. 

East  Hartford  was  established  as  a  separate  town  in  1783  and  one 
half  of  the  rights  in  the  ferry  was  granted  to  it.  The  ferry  continued 
to  be  controlled  by  the  two  towns  until  the  opening  of  the  Boston  Turn- 
pike, and  for  eleven  years  after  provided  the  only  means  of  crossing 
the  broad  river  at  that  point. 

The  Boston  Turnpike  Company  was  formed  by  an  act  of  the  October 
session  of  1797.     It  was  granted  a  franchise  over  the  roads 

from   Hartford,  through   East   Hartford,   Bolton,  Coventry,   Mansfield,  Ashford, 
Pomfret,  and  Thompson,  to  Massachusetts  line. 

Four  gates  were  to  be  allowed,  —  one  within  two  miles  of  the  state 
boundary;  one  within  one  mile  of  Mashamaquet  Brook  in  Pomfret;  one 
within  one  mile  of  the  line  between  the  towns  of  Mansfield  and  Willing- 
ton;  and  one  at  the  notch  of  the  mountain  in  Bolton.  The  capital  stock 
of  the  corporation  was  fixed  within  the  elastic  limit  of  four  thousand 
eight  hundred  pounds  and  more. 
[342] 


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THE    TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 

The  project  was  bitterly  opposed,  especially  in  East  Hartford  and 
Pomfret.  The  former  town  succeeded  at  first  in  keeping  the  turnpike- 
out,  as  an  act  of  May,  1798,  deprived  the  company  of  the  right  to  build 
its  road  west  of  "  White's  Monument  "  in  Bolton,  but  that  advantage 
was  reversed  in  1812  and  the  toll  road  entered  the  town.  But  Goodwin 
says  that  the  people  succeeded  in  keeping  the  tollgates  out  of  the  town 
at  all  times.  Pomfret  folks  fought  the  enterprise  at  all  points  and  when 
beaten  sought  to  have  changes  made  in  the  route,  but  they  had  to  submit 
and  were  forced  to  levy  a  heavy  tax  to  pay  for  the  land.1 

The  Boston  Turnpike,  as  finally  constructed,  commenced  at  the 
corner  of  Burnside  Avenue  and  Tolland  Street  in  East  Hartford  Vil- 
lage, where  it  formed  a  junction  with  the  Hartford  and  Tolland  Turn- 
pike which  was  built  in  1802  and  over  which  the  Boston  travelers 
continued  their  journey  to  the  ferry.  Thence  it  ran  easterly  through 
Burnside  and  past  the  old  powder  mills  to  Manchester  Green,  from 
which  place  it  continued  directly  to  the  pass  through  the  mountain  range 
at  Bolton  Notch,  where  the  present-day  trains  between  Willimantic  and 
Hartford  wind  their  way  around  a  sharp  curve,  cut  through  the  solid 
rock,  with  perpendicular  walls  seventy  feet  in  height.  Continuing  its 
easterly  course  the  turnpike  passed  across  the  foot  of  what  has  since 
become  the  Willimantic  Reservoir,  and  into  Quarryville,  which  long  had 
an  established  reputation  for  its  production  of  smooth  thin  layers  of 
beautiful  slate  which  served  for  flagging  in  many  of  our  towns  and 
cities. 

After  leaving  North  Coventry  the  old  road  proceeded  directly  to 
its  crossing  of  the  Willimantic  River  where  now  the  Central  Vermont 
Railway  trains  stop  at  Mansfield  Depot.  A  change  in  the  course  oc- 
curred here  and  the  road  went  northeasterly  across  the  towns  of  Mans- 
field and  Ashford,  passing  the  villages  of  West  Ashford  and  Ashford 
before  reaching  the  point  where  the  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island 
Turnpike,  to  Providence,  later  joined  it.  From  that  point  it  went 
easterly  again  through  the  towns  of  Eastford  and  Pomfret  and  north- 
erly and  northeasterly  across  the  town  of  Thompson  to  the  northeast 
corner  of  the  state  where  it  joined  the  road  of  the  Ninth  Massachusetts 
Turnpike  Corporation  in  the  town  of  Douglas. 

The  journey  to  Boston  was  continued  over  the  roads  of  the  Ninth 
Massachusetts,  the  Hartford  and  Dedham,  and  the  Norfolk  and  Bris- 
tol, after  which  the  traveler  pursued  his  way  toll-free  over  Boston  Neck 
and  into  the  town  of  Boston. 

The  Old  Farmer's  Almanac,  in  1802,  gave  the  distance  from  Boston 
to  Hartford  as  one  hundred  and  six  miles,  with  taverns  from  one  to 
seven  miles  apart.  Those  on  the  Boston  Turnpike  were  Jacobs'  Tavern 
in  Thompson,  seven  miles  from  the  last  tavern  in  Douglas,  and  Nichols' 
in  Thompson  two  miles  from  Jacobs'.  Another  seven  miles  brought 
the  traveler  to  Grosvenor's  in  Pomfret,  and  seven  miles  farther  to 

1  "  History  of  Windham  County,"  Lamed. 

[343] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

Spring's  in  Ashford,  which  town  maintained  two  other  hostelries,  Per- 
kins' and  Clark's,  three  and  five  miles  respectively  beyond  Spring's. 
Covering  four  miles  from  Clark's,  Utley's  in  Willington  came  into  view, 
and  another  four  miles  revealed  the  sign  displayed  by  Dunham  in 
Mansfield.  The  only  chance  to  obtain  accommodations  between  Mans- 
field and  East  Hartford  was  at  Kimball's  Tavern,  in  Coventry,  six 
miles  from  Dunham's,  and  it  was  six  miles  thence  to  Woodbridge's  in 
East  Hartford.  Woodbridge  must  have  kept  his  house  well  in  the 
eastern  part  of  the  town,  for  another  tavern  is  noted  in  East  Hartford, 
nine  miles  farther  west,  kept  by  Little.  One  mile  farther,  over  the 
ferry,  the  pilgrim  could  rest  his  weary  bones  in  the  bed  provided  by 
Bull  of  Hartford.  As  the  distance  from  the  center  of  Hartford  to 
the  eastern  line  of  Manchester  along  the  old  turnpike  is  but  little  over 
eleven  miles,  it  is  evident  that  one  looking  for  the  site  of  Woodbridge's 
Tavern  should  wend  his  way  to  Manchester  Green.  To  the  antiquary 
such  a  pilgrimage  would  be  well  worth  taking,  for  see  what  Goodwin 
has  to  say  on  the  subject. 

One  of  the  older  public  hostelries  was  that  kept  by  the  Wells  family.  This 
tavern  [noted  as  still  standing]  was  in  its  day  one  of  the  most  resorted  to  in  town. 
It  was  kept  in  1811  by  the  Woodbridge  family  and  in  1817,  by  a  Mr.  Buckler.  It 
has  a  low  spacious  bar  room  with  a  slat  enclosed  bar,  until  recently  intact,  with  a 
large  fireplace  on  one  side.  The  "  best  chamber  "  was  until  lately  complete  in  its 
ancient  furnishings,  with  flowery  blue  wall-paper,  and  two  high  post  bedsteads 
canopied  with  large  figured  blue  curtains.  It  had  curtain  rests  like  rosettes  of  brass, 
and  brass  andirons  in  its  fireplace,  over  which  hung  old-time  prints  of  historic  scenes, 
cheaply  colored  and  nearly  a  hundred  years  old.  The  other  chambers  were  as  bare 
as  barracks.  A  low  ceiled  hall  with  two  corner  fireplaces  and  a  bench  around  the 
wall  was  kept  for  dancing  parties  which  used  especially  to  resort  here  in  sleighing 
time,  having  gay  times  and  racing  their  horses,  with  tremendous  jangling  of  bells, 
up  and  down  the  street.  Their  sleighs  were  large  high-backed  green  and  yellow 
affairs  with  yellow  or  red  linings. 

The  barns  and  sheds  that  stood  north  of  this  tavern,  close  to  the  road,  were 
burned  down  a  number  of  years  ago. 

It  is  further  recorded  that  Woodbridge's  was  one  of  the  stopping  places 
of  President  Monroe  on  his  eastern  tour  in  18 17. 

After  ten  years  of  turnpike  operation  the  tolls  were  found  insuffi- 
cient-and  an  act  was  secured  in  October,  1807,  by  which  they  were 
increased  by  about  one  third.  In  18 12,  as  already  mentioned,  authority 
was  obtained  for  the  extension  of  the  road  westerly  from  White's  Mon- 
ument in  Bolton  to  a  junction  with  the  Hartford  and  Tolland  Turn- 
pike, and  another  whole  or  two  half  gates  were  allowed. 

Four  years  previous  to  this,  however,  the  ferry  had  become  subject  to 
the  competition  of  a  toll  bridge  which  was  allowed  by  a  charter  granted 
in  1808,  and  which  no  doubt  greatly  increased  the  popularity  of  the 
Middle  Route. 

On  account  of  its  position  the  Boston  Turnpike  was  often  locally 
called  the  "  Middle  Turnpike  "  and  as  such  it  is  marked  on  one  of  the 
maps  published  to-day.     It  continued  subject  to  toll  along  its  whole 

t344] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 

length  until  1845  when  all  that  part  in  Pomfret  was  made  free.  Similar 
action  was  had  in  reference  to  Eastford  in  1850,  and  by  1879  all  rights 
to  collect  toll  had  ceased. 

Just  west  of  Mansfield  Four  Corners  a  road  branched  off  to  Spring- 
field over  which  the  stages  from  that  city  to  Norwich  used  to  come, 
continuing  their  journey  southward  over  the  Windham  and  Mansfield 
Turnpike,  whose  intersection  with  the  Boston  formed  the  Four  Corners. 
Fuller's  Tavern  is  still  standing  in  the  northwesterly  of  the  four  corners, 
and  the  ell  of  the  house  opposite  is  the  old  tollhouse,  which  formerly 
stood  about  halfway  to  the  Springfield  road  on  foundation  stones  which 
are  still  to  be  seen.  At  the  summit  of  the  next  hill  easterly  may  be  seen 
one  of  the  old  milestones  telling  off  twenty-three  miles  from  Hartford 
courthouse. 

Farther  east,  where  the  turnpike  crosses  the  Fenton  River,  is  the  old 
Mason  mill  where  an  old-time  cart  is  yet  occasionally  turned  out.  The 
old  "up-and-down"  saw  is  still  in  use,  a  relic  of  the  days  ere  circular 
saws  were  known. 


THE   TALCOTT   MOUNTAIN   TURNPIKE 

This  road  extended  from  the  west  line  of  Hartford  through  Far- 
mington and  Simsbury  to  New  Hartford  and  was  opened  by  the  Talcott 
Mountain  Turnpike  Company  under  authority  of  a  charter  granted  in 
May,  1798.  Apparently  an  expert  bookkeeper  was  not  employed  in 
the  early  days  for  the  assembly  of  1799  deemed  it  necessary  to  appoint 
a  committee  to  "  liquidate  the  accounts  "  of  the  company,  determine 
the  amount  of  stock,  audit  the  accounts,  and  thereafter  report  yearly 
to  the^assembly. 

A  change  of  location  was  made  in  the  year  1807  across  the  town  of 
Farmington,  and  the  responsibility  for  a  bridge  over  the  Farmington 
River  was  imposed  upon  the  company.  Further  alterations  in  the  route 
were  made  in  18 16. 

The  Talcott  Mountain  Turnpike  connected  in  New  Hartford  with 
the  Greenwoods  Turnpike,  which  continued  the  journey  to  the  Massa- 
chusetts line  in  Sheffield,  where  it  joined  the  road  of  the  Twelfth  Massa- 
chusetts Turnpike  Corporation.  These  three  turnpikes,  with  their 
extension  in  New  York,  formed  the  great  highway  between  Hartford 
and  Albany  and  a  heavy  traffic  passed  over  them  for  over  half  a  cen- 
tury. Apparently  the  system  was  much  more  extended  than  we  have 
outlined  for  Dr.  Timothy  Dwight,  in  his  travels,  mentioned  a  continuous 
turnpike  to  Wattles'  Ferry  on  the  Susquehanna  River,  and  he  amusingly 
calls  it  a  "  branch  of  the  Greenwoods." 

The  Greenwoods  Turnpike  was  made  free  in  1872  and  as  this  one 
was  so  closely  linked  with  it,  but  nearer  the  developed  parts  of  the  state, 
it  is  probable  that  the  Talcott  Mountain  was  given  up  but  a  few  years 
earlier. 

■•   •  [345] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   NEW   ENGLAND 


THE   OUSATONIC  TURNPIKE 

The  turnpike  thus  named  extended  from  New  Milford  to  Derby  on 
the  northeast  bank  of  the  Housatonic  River,  following  close  to  the  shore 
and  winding  in  and  out  as  the  river  changed  its  course.  The  corpora- 
tion which  provided  this  utility  was  formed  in  May,  1798,  and  named 
the  Ousatonic  Turnpike  Company.  Three  gates  were  authorized,  but 
even  with  that  frequency  it  became  necessary  to  secure  increased  rates 
of  toll  within  nine  years.  Owing  to  some  clerical  error  the  franchise 
did  not  clearly  specify  that  New  Milford  was  to  be  the  northerly  ter- 
minus, so  an  amending  act  was  passed  in  May,  1800,  in  which  the 
corporation  was  plainly  allowed  to  build  to  the  meeting-house  in  New 
Milford. 

A  peculiar  effect  of  Connecticut  laws,  which  has  been  often  noted, 
first  appears  in  connection  with  this  road.  It  seems  that  a  turnpike 
corporation,  although  obliged  to  remove  stones  and  cut  trees  from  its 
route,  did  not  have  any  title  to  the  material  thus  partly  prepared  for 
sale.  The  Ousatonic  Turnpike  Company  petitioned  the  assembly  of 
1807,  asking  that  it  might  be  the  owner  of  such  timber  and  stone,  but 
the  matter  was  referred  to  the  next  assembly. 

In  October,  18 13,  the  portion  between  Southbury  and  New  Milford, 
about  a  third  of  the  total  mileage,  was  discontinued  as  a  turnpike  and, 
in  addition  to  the  loss  of  that  much  road,  the  corporation  was  obliged 
to  deduct  from  the  amount  of  its  capital  stock  the  recorded  cost  of 
making  that  part  of  the  road,  which  was  three  thousand  seven  hundred 
dollars. 

The  River  Turnpike  Company  was  incorporated  at  the  May  session 
of  1834  and  given  the  northerly  half  of  the  Ousatonic  Company's  road. 
The  division  was  made  at  Zoar  Bridge  in  Oxford,  all  southerly  of  that 
point  remaining  the  road  of  the  Ousatonic.  Whatever  this  deal  may 
have  been  the  Ousatonic  seems  to  have  kept  a  string  on  the  property, 
for  after  seven  years  of  the  experiment,  as  the  River  Turnpike  Com- 
pany had  abandoned  the  effort  to  make  both  ends  meet,  that  corpora- 
tion was  dissolved  and  the  road  which  it  had  tried  to  operate  was  re- 
stored to  its  original  owner,  the  Ousatonic  Company. 

One  year  more  saw  the  finish.  In  1842  the  road  was  reported  as 
out  of  repair  and  the  corporation  took  the  poor  debtor's  oath.  So  the 
Ousatonic's  charter  was  repealed  and  its  road  given  to  the  public. 

Scanning  the  map  in  1916,  the  prospects  for  a  road  located  along 
the  Housatonic  valley  seem  to  have  been  as  good  as  any  in  the  state. 
In  connection  with  the  New  Milford  and  Litchfield  and  the  Derby  turn- 
pikes, this  road  offered  an  improved  route  all  the  way  from  Litchfield 
to  New  Haven  and  on  the  easy  grades  of  a  river  location.  Following 
down  the  valley  it  served  the  large  territory  tributary  to  it  with  its 
yields  of  produce  from  fertile  farms.  The  Housatonic  Railroad  Com- 
[346] 


Tollgate  in  Norfolk,  Conn.,  on  Greenwoods  Turnpike 

Views  of  Maple  Avenue,  Hartford,  Hartford  and  New  Haven  Turnpike 

Plate  LXXXVII 


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THE   TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 

pany  was  not  incorporated  until  shortly  after  the  turnpike  had  been 
abandoned,  and  when  it  built  its  railroad  it  did  not  follow  the  river 
along  the  route  of  the  turnpike  but  left  the  valley  at  New  Milford  and 
bore  straight  for  Bridgeport.  That  the  turnpike  management  should 
have  been  in  financial  difficulties  during  the  years  which  we  have  seen 
to  be  the  most  prosperous  for  other  such  enterprises,  that  is,  the  decade 
preceding  the  introduction  of  railroads,  is  hard  to  understand. 

THE   DERBY   TURNPIKE 

About  1836  the  Connecticut  assembly  made  an  appropriation  for 
the  purpose  of  having  compiled  all  the  special  and  private  laws  which 
had  been  passed  since  the  establishment  of  the  Union.  The  learned 
gentleman  to  whom  was  intrusted  the  work  contemplated  acquitted  him- 
self well,  arranging  the  laws  under  subject  headings  and  not  chrono- 
logically as  was  done  in  most  of  the  other  states.  But  he  made  one 
peculiar  error  in  treating  acts  establishing  turnpike  companies.  If  the 
charter  of  a  company  had  later  been  repealed,  even  if  it  was  after  many 
years  during  which  the  road  had  been  built  and  operated,  he  omitted 
the  act  creating  that  company  from  his  compilation,  merely  citing  its 
heading  with  a  note  that  the  act  had  been  repealed.  Thus  we  read  of 
the  Derby  Turnpike  Company  only  that  it  was  created  in  May,  1798, 
and  that  its  charter  was  repealed  in  May,  1832. 

But  another  error  appears  here,  for  the  Derby  Turnpike  was  the 
last  in  Connecticut  to  surrender  its  privileges,  collecting  its  tolls  until 
1895,  so  the  charter  could  not  have  been  revoked  on  the  date  given. 
Even  had  the  canceling  of  the  franchise  taken  effect  in  1832  the  fact 
that  the  road  wa9  built  and  had  then  been  in  operation  for  over  thirty 
years  entitled  the  company  to  have  its  act  of  incorporation  printed  in 
full  with  the  others. 

The  Derby  Turnpike  is  known  as  such  to-day,  although  no  longer 
are  tolls  collected.  It  ran  from  the  center  of  New  Haven  to  Derby 
Landing,  a  distance  of  eight  miles.  It  is  now  known,  also,  as  West 
Chapel  Street  in  New  Haven  and  as  New  Haven  Avenue  in  Derby. 

Watrous  in  the  "  History  of  New  Haven  "  says  that  although  there 
were  other  roads  to  Derby  the  turnpike  was  the  best.  The  capital  stock 
for  this  eight-mile  road  was  $7520.  The  gate  stood  a  few  miles  from 
New  Haven,  just  west  of  Maltby  Lakes.  The  easterly  end  was  at 
York  Street. 

The  expectations  which  prevailed  in  Derby  of  the  results  which  the 
turnpike  would  produce  are  most  amusing  in  the  light  of  later  knowl- 
edge of  the  tendency  of  commerce.  The  "  History  of  Derby  "  by 
Orcutt  and  Beardsley  recounts  that  great  expectations  were  had  of  the 
amount  of  New  Haven  trade  which  would  come  to  Derby,  little  realiz- 
ing that  the  larger  place  would  inevitably  draw  the  business  from  the 
smaller. 

[347] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

Previous  to  the  opening  of  the  Derby  the  Oxford  Turnpike  had  been 
completed  in  the  northerly  part  of  Derby,  passing  close  to  the  village 
of  Chusetown,  now  Seymour,  about  four  and  a  half  miles  up  the  Nauga- 
tuck  River  from  the  end  of  the  Derby  Turnpike.  The  Derby  people 
interested  themselves  most  strangely  in  having  turnpike  connection  made 
between  these  two  roads,  apparently  little  appreciating  that  such  an 
improvement  would  make  of  their  town  nothing  more  than  a  way 
station,  past  which  the  commerce  of  the  upper  valleys  would  flow  un- 
interruptedly to  New  Haven. 

At  a  town  meeting  in  1803  Derby  voted  "to  do  something"  relative 
to  a  turnpike  from  the  Oxford  to  Derby  Landing.  But  the  assembly 
could  not  be  convinced  of  the  need  of  that  particular  utility  and,  after 
two  years  of  fruitless  effort  to  have  a  franchise  issued,  the  town  laid 
out  and  built  the  road. 

New  Haven,  which  became  a  city  in  1774,  by  1847  had  laid  out  so 
many  improvements  near  the  line  of  the  Derby  Turnpike  that  the  op- 
eration of  the  easterly  portion  became  unprofitable,  so  in  the  latter  year 
the  company  secured  the  passage  of  an  act  releasing  it  from  responsi- 
bility for  the  road  between  York  and  Kensington  streets  in  New  Haven. 

In  1895  the  last  turnpike  in  Connecticut  passed  out  of  existence,  as 
the  Derby  was  then  made  free.  Eight  thousand  dollars  was  awarded 
to  the  corporation  in  compensation  and  the  city  of  New  Haven  and 
the  towns  of  Orange  and  Derby  became  the  owners  of  the  turnpike. 


THE   GREENWOODS   TURNPIKE 

As  already  mentioned  in  the  account  of  the  Talcott  Mountain  Turn- 
pike, that  road,  in  connection  with  the  road  of  the  Greenwoods  Turn- 
pike Company,  formed  the  Connecticut  portion  of  an  important  and 
much-traveled  route  from  Hartford  to  Albany,  and  by  New  York  ex- 
tensions, to  the  Susquehanna  River.  The  Greenwoods  Company  was 
incorporated  at  the  October  session  of  1798  and  allowed  to  build 

from  Eldad  Shepard's  in  New  Hartford  to  Sheffield  line. 

Crissey's  "  History  of  Norfolk  "  and  Boyd's  "  Annals  of  Winches- 
ter "  give  pertinent  facts  about  this  old  road,  from  which  the  following 
has  been  gathered. 

Through  Winchester  it  passed  along  the  easterly  and  northerly  edge 
of  Mad  River,  passing  through  what  later  became  the  borough  of 
Winsted.  A  new  and  more  direct  route  was  thus  opened,  and  the  travel 
was  diverted  from  the  old  north  road  over  Wallen's  Hill  and  the  old 
south  road,  through  old  Winchester,  to  the  more  favorable  grades  of 
the  road  along  the  bottom  of  the  river  valleys.  The  turnpike  was 
finished  in  1799  at  a  cost  of  nineteen  thousand  five  hundred  dollars, 
and  for  many  years  paid  a  good  dividend  and  was  somewhat  sought 
[348] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 


as  an  investment.  The  first  gate  was  located  in  West  Norfolk,  and  was 
a  primitive  swing  affair.  Later,  when  it  became  necessary  to  construct 
a  second  gate,  the  site  was  shifted  farther  east,  on  which  ground  the 
third  and  last  gate  was  built,  which  continued  its  collections  until  the 
road  was  finally  dedicated  to  the  public  good. 

An  alteration  was  made  in  the  location  of  the  road  in  181 1,  by  which 
land  was  taken  from  eight  owners,  the  total  award  for  such  damages 
being  $48.87.  Further  alterations  were  made  in  1842,  when  recom- 
mendations which  had  been  made  in  1830  were  carried  out.  In  1853 
a  portion  of  the  road  in  Norfolk  was  made  free. 

The  last  of  the  old  turnpike  came  in  1872  when,  on  the  first  of 
October,  the  gate  ceased  to  obstruct  travelers.  During  the  last  years 
the  collections  had  run  between  eight  and  twelve  hundred  dollars  each 
year.  The  length  of  the  turnpike  was  about  twenty-four  miles  so, 
accepting  Crissey's  statement  of  the  cost,  this  road  was  built  at  the  rate 
of  about  eight  hundred  and  fifteen  dollars  a  mile,  which  accords  with 
the  costs  of  similar  Massachusetts  roads  of  that  period. 

THE  HARTFORD  AND  NEW  HAVEN  TURNPIKE 

The  Connecticut  Colonial  Records  show  that  in  1717  Captain  John 
Munson  had  set  up  a  wagon  and  was  granted  the  exclusive  privilege  of 
being  a  common  carrier  between  New  Haven  and  Hartford  for  seven 
years.  He  was  obligated  to  make  the  trip  once  a  month  at  least  except 
during  the  winter  months  of  December,  January,  February,  and  March, 
starting  on  the  first  Monday  of  the  month  and  making  the  round  trip 
within  a  week.  The  early  road  passed  through  Wethersfield,  Farming- 
ton,  Middletown,  and  Wallingford,  and  does  not  seem  to  have  caused 
complaint  until  1759  when  the  general  assembly  was  advised  that  its 
condition  was  bad.  A  committee  reported  to  the  1760  session,  advising 
certain  changes  which  were  ordered  and  assessed  upon  the  towns.  Such 
a  road  served  until  the  turnpike  march  of  progress. 

The  Hartford  and  New  Haven  Turnpike  Company  was  created  by 
another  act  of  the  October  session  in  1798,  and  seems  to  have  been  one 
of  the  first  corporations  to  disregard  the  old  roads  and  lay  out  a  new 
route  on  turnpike  fallacies,  —  the  straight  line.  This  road  went  about 
as  straight  from  one  city  to  the  other  as  it  could  be  laid  out,  passing 
through  the  northerly  part  of  New  Haven  over  what  is  now  Whitney 
Avenue,  thence  through  the  southeast  part  of  Hampden,  the  westerly 
part  of  Wallingford,  and  the  center  of  Meriden.  Crossing  the  easterly 
part  of  Berlin,  the  southeast  corner  of  Newington,  and  the  northwest 
quarter  of  Wethersfield,  it  entered  Hartford  over  the  street  now  known 
as  Maple  Avenue. 

Watrous  has  recorded  that  the  first  meeting  of  the  corporation  was 
held  in  November,  1798,  at  which  time  the  stock  was  offered  for  sub- 
scription.    The  outlook  must  have  seemed  promising,  for  by  Decem- 

[349] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

ber  6  it  was  announced  that  all  shares  had  been  taken  with  an  overflow 
list  of  those  anxious  to  buy.  The  southerly  termination  in  New  Haven 
was  at  Grove  Street,  at  which  street  a  branch  later  authorized  also 
ended. 

Blake,  in  the  "  History  of  Hampden,"  says  that  the  original  road 
crossed  Mill  River  just  above  where  the  dam  now  impounds  the  waters 
of  Whitney  Lake.  When  in  1861  the  level  of  the  lake  was  raised,  it 
became  necessary  to  move  the  turnpike,  and  the  bridge  which  had  car- 
ried the  stages  over  Mill  River  was  moved  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
up  the  lake  where  it  was  again  put  in  service  on  another  road  which 
crossed  a  narrow  part  of  the  lake.  This  bridge  was  one  of  those  ever 
interesting  old  structures,  —  a  covered  timber-latticed  truss,  such  as  are 
so  familiar  even  yet  in  northern  New  England.  The  one  on  the  turn- 
pike was  built  in  1823  by  Ithiel  Town,  the  originator  of  such  bridges, 
and  was  composed  of  oak  planks  three  inches  thick  and  eight  and  a 
half  to  nine  inches  wide.  These,  arranged  in  a  lattice  form,  were 
fastened  at  their  intersections  with  wooden  treenails.  Bridges  of  this 
style  are  shown  in  the  illustrations  of  the  bridge  at  Bellows  Falls 
(Plate  lxvi)  and  of  the  Stevens  Village  toll  bridge  (Plate  lxx). 
The  expense  of  moving  the  bridge  on  Whitney  Lake  was  two  hundred 
and  fifty  dollars,  and  it  remained  in  its  new  location  at  least  as  late  as 
1886,  and  doubtless  much  longer.  For  a  quarter  of  a  century  after  the 
changes  in  the  old  road  the  early  roadbed  could  plainly  be  seen  along 
the  north  shore  at  the  lower  end  of  Whitney  Lake. 

"  A  Century  of  Meriden  "  by  Curtis  states  that  "  as  much  joy  and 
excitement"  attended  the  opening  of  the  turnpike  in  1799  as  greeted 
the  railroad  thirty-eight  years  later.  The  record  of  damages  paid  by 
the  corporation  enabled  that  historian  to  draw  a  most  interesting  de- 
scription of  Meriden  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century,  which, 
however,  is  not  of  general  interest.  One  item,  however,  is  interesting. 
Samuel  Yale  occupied  a  house  in  the  center  of  the  town  facing  on  what 
had  previously  been  the  main  street.  The  turnpike,  reverencing  noth- 
ing which  stood  in  its  direct  path,  cut  its  way  so  close  to  the  rear  of 
Mr.  Yale's  dwelling  that  the  house  stood  like  a  precipice  above  the 
roadway  and  soon  became  an  eyesore  and  a  source  of  so  much  mortifica- 
tion to  the  town  that  the  citizens  bought  the  house  and  moved  it  away. 
It  is  hoped  that  his  neighbors  were  generous  and  gave  Mr.  Yale  a  good 
price,  for  he  only  received  fifty-seven  dollars  for  damages  from  the 
corporation. 

The  turnpike  is  now  Meriden's  Broad  Street,  and  at  the  corner  of 
East  Main  Street  a  tavern  built  by  Dr.  Insign  Hough  in  1792  long 
served  the  travelers  as  a  halfway  stop  for  dinner.  The  Old  Farmer's 
Almanac  tells  us  that  this  tavern  was  kept  by  one  Robinson  in  1802. 
Other  bonifaces  along  the  Hartford  and  New  Haven  Turnpike  in  that 
year  were  Wright  of  Wethersfield,  Riley  of  Worthington,  Carrington 
of  Wallingford,  and  Ives  of  North  Haven,  while  Nichols  and  Butler 
t35o] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 


provided  the  comforts  demanded  by  the  traveler  who  had  completed  the 
long  trip  to  New  Haven. 

This  was  the  turnpike  of  which  Secretary  Gallatin  reported  that  its 
thirty-four  and  three  fourths  miles  had  cost  $79,261,  or  about  $2280 
a  mile,  and  that  the  net  income  of  the  entire  road  did  not  exceed  $3000 
a  year.  By  which  we  have  reason  to  believe  that  the  investment  paid 
about  three  and  eight  tenths  per  cent  previous  to  1807.  Captain  Bailey 
of  Connecticut,  who  built  the  first  section  of  the  First  Massachusetts 
Turnpike  from  Western,  now  Warren,  to  Palmer  in  1796  and  1797, 
found  the  business  sufficiently  good  to  encourage  him  to  take  the  con- 
tract to  build  the  Hartford  and  New  Haven  Turnpike.  His  price  in 
Massachusetts  had  been  three  dollars  a  rod,  so  it  is  to  be  supposed  that 
he  tried  to  get  the  same  figure  on  the  later  job,  but  the  Massachusetts 
men  thought  that  they  had  paid  too  much  by  half,  so  perhaps  he  had 
to  shade  his  figure. 

In  1 8 15  a  branch  was  authorized  in  New  Haven  by  which  Temple 
Street  was  extended  to  the  northerly  end  of  Church  Street,  after  which 
two  entrances  into  New  Haven  were  available. 


THE   LITCHFIELD   AND   HARWINTON   TURNPIKE 

In  October,  1798,  the  charter  for  this  road  was  given  to  the  Litch- 
field and  Harwinton  Turnpike  Company.  The  route  was  described  as 
from  Litchfield  courthouse  to  the  corner  of  the  Simsbury  and  Hartford 
roads.  It  is  evident  from  the  further  sections  of  the  act  that  the  road 
was  to  pass  through  the  town  of  Harwinton  and  into  that  portion  of 
the  town  of  Bristol  which  was  later  set  off  as  Burlington.  Just  where 
the  road  ran  is  anybody's  guess,  so  here  is  ours.  Let  us  say  that  the 
turnpike  started  from  Litchfield,  near  the  courthouse,  and  proceeded 
in  a  semicircular  course  to  East  Litchfield,  thence  easterly  across  Har- 
winton and  about  a  mile  into  the  present  town  of  Burlington,  at  which 
point  it  was  later  joined  by  the  road  of  the  Farmington  and  Bristol 
Company.  It  is  probable  that  the  franchise  covered  a  greater  distance 
and  reached  into  the  town  of  Farmington,  as  we  have  to  go  that  far  to 
find  conditions  which  justify  the  description  of  "  the  corner  of  the  Sims- 
bury  and  Hartford  roads,"  but  it  is  clear  that  the  road  was  not  built  east 
of  the  point  named  above.  When  the  Farmington  and  Bristol  was  laid 
out  its  route  was  specified  in  precise  detail  and  it  defined  the  easterly 
end  of  the  Litchfield  and  Harwinton  as  stated. 

No  mention  of  this  road  has  been  found  in  any  history.  In  1803 
it  was  allowed  to  collect  toll  from  passing  mail  carriages,  and  in  1820 
permission  was  granted  to  move  the  gates.  Again,  in  1827,  the  as- 
sembly took  notice  of  the  corporate  existence,  confirming  certain  pro- 
ceedings and  allowing  changes  in  the  road. 

Commencing  in  1844  general  laws  successively  appeared  as  a  result 

[35i] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

of  which  the  abandonment  of  a  road,  or  the  freeing  of  the  same  by  a 
town,  might  be  accomplished  automatically  and  without  formality. 
Hence  the  end  of  many  Connecticut  turnpikes  is  veiled  in  obscurity. 

The  Farmington  and  Bristol,  which  must  have  been  an  integral  part 
of  the  scheme  by  which  the  Litchfield  and  Harwinton  was  of  use  to  the 
community,  gave  up  the  struggle  in  1819,  reporting  its  entire  investment 
a  loss,  and  it  seems  strange  that  this  road  should  have  done  business  as 
much  as  eight  years  longer.  It  does  not  seem  possible  that  it  could  have 
continued  many  years  alone. 


THE   WINDHAM   TURNPIKE 

The  first  white  settlers  in  Windham  County  found  an  old  Indian  trail 
leading  from  Canterbury  through  Plainfield  to  Greenwich  on  Narra- 
gansett  Bay,  and  they  soon  developed  it  into  a  road  which  was  then 
considered  passable.  Soon  after  1699,  when  Major  Fitch  had  estab- 
lished his  home  at  Peagscomsuck  in  Canterbury,  a  road  was  cut  out  to 
that  point  from  Windham.  These,  offering  the  best  route  then  avail- 
able by  which  the  Windham  County  colonists  could  reach  Providence, 
became  a  road  of  importance  which  was  later  known  as  the  "  Great 
Road."  It  seems  that  the  act  of  171 2,  to  which  reference  was  had  in 
speaking  of  the  Providence  and  Norwich  Turnpike  in  Rhode  Island, 
contemplated  the  improvement  of  a  part  of  this  road  and  that  some 
work  was  actually  done  in  the  town  of  Plainfield  in  consequence,  but 
generally  the  "  Great  Road "  appears  to  have,  like  Topsy,  "  just 
growed." 

Under  date  of  September  28,  1795,  a  report  was  made  to  the  as- 
sembly by  a  committee  which  had  been  appointed  to  view  this  road,  make 
alterations,  and  advise  regarding  the  establishment  of  tollgates  upon  it 
when  completed.  It  had  been  found  possible  to  improve  the  road  by 
changing  its  layout  at  six  places  in  Plainfield,  seven  in  Canterbury,  and 
two  in  Windham,  each  of  which  was  described  by  a  surveyor's  record, 
after  which  the  report  continued: 

We  would  further  observe  that  upon  a  view  of  said  road  we  find  it  proceeds  in 
a  very  direct  course  from  Windham  to  Providence ;  that  it  is  a  road  of  great  travel- 
ling but  extremely  rough  and  out  of  repair  in  many  places ;  that  it  is  capable  of 
being  made  a  pleasant  road  for  carriages ;  but  in  some  of  the  most  parts  of  it  the 
Inhabitants  are  the  thinly  settled  and  the  least  able  to  repair  it  and  it  is  the  opinion 
of  your  committee  that  after  suitable  repairs  are  made  upon  said  road  there  ought 
to  be  a  Turnpike  Erected  and  Established  on  said  road  in  the  town  of  Canterbury 
.  .  .  and  that  the  avails  thereof  will  probably  be  sufficient  to  support  and  maintain 
said  road  with  a  reasonable  toll. 

The  report  was  accepted  and  the  alterations  declared  laid  out  and 
established,  and  then  the  whole  matter  was  laid  aside  until  capitalists 
with  sufficient  courage  should  appear  to  undertake  the  work.  They 
were  slow  in  coming  forward,  but  finally  in  May,  1799,  the  Windham 
[352] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   CONNECTICUT 


Turnpike  Company  was  incorporated  for  that  purpose,  with  the  addi- 
tional privilege  of  extending  the  road  to  the  Boston  Turnpike  in  North 
Coventry. 

Windham,  being  on  the  "Great  Road,"  had  for  many  years  seen 
the  tide  of  western  emigration  flowing  past  its  doors  to  the  new  settle- 
ments in  Wyoming  County,  New  York,  western  Massachusetts,  and 
southern  Vermont,  and  consequently  had  been  at  great  expense  in  main- 
taining its  roads  and  the  several  bridges  over  the  three  large  rivers 
which  crossed  its  territory.  In  1771  a  destructive  flood  carried  away 
nearly  every  bridge  in  the  town  and  the  poor  inhabitants  rebelled,  re- 
fusing to  rebuild  bridges  for  the  accommodation  of  strangers  who  were 
merely  passing  that  way.  In  this  they  were  overruled,  the  assembly 
directing  the  town  to  rebuild  the  bridge  over  the  Shetucket  on  the  road 
from  Windham  to  Hartford,  called  the  Old  Town  Bridge,  and  one 
over  the  Willimantic,  known  as  the  Ironworks  Bridge.  The  first  bridge 
across  the  Shetucket  was  built  in  1722  and  was  probably  on  the  site  of 
the  Old  Town  Bridge,  and  the  Ironworks  Bridge  was  first  erected  in 
1727  1  on  the  site  of  the  present  stone  arch  bridge  in  Willimantic  over 
which  the  trolley  cars  pass  as  they  leave  for  Norwich.  Each  of  these 
bridges  figured  in  the  turnpike  layout. 

That  over  the  Shetucket  evidently  did  not  fall  within  the  mathemati- 
cal situation  required  for  an  ideal  turnpike,  and  the  road  builders  re- 
fused to  utilize  it  and  called  upon  the  town  to  provide  another  in  a 
different  location.  The  town  being  loaded  with  the  burden  of  provid- 
ing the  bridges  and  land  for  the  new  road  naturally  wanted  the  turn- 
pike to  pass  over  such  bridges  as  were  already  provided,  and  strenu- 
ously objected  to  building  another  bridge  within  a  short  distance  of  the 
older  one  which  it  had  been  forced  to  build.  But  again  the  town  was 
overruled  and  until  1806  two  bridges  threw  their  shadows  on  the  She- 
tucket. The  turnpike  was  the  original  of  the  Plains  Road  from  Wind- 
ham to  Willimantic,  and  the  turnpike  bridge  was  on  the  site  of  the 
present  Bingham  Bridge.  The  Ironworks  Bridge  was  acceptable  to  the 
corporation  and  the  turnpike  crossed  the  Willimantic  on  that.  Again, 
between  Mansfield  and  Coventry,  the  turnpike  crossed  the  Willimantic, 
but  there  the  burden  was  put  upon  the  company  and  the  towns  were  free 
from  that  expense. 

Besides  the  gate  recommended  by  the  committee  in  Canterbury  an- 
other was  allowed  which  was  to  be  "  somewhere  between  the  dwelling- 
house  of  Stephen  Turner  and  the  iron  works  bridge  over  the  Williman- 
tic river."  By  the  best  information  obtainable  to-day  Stephen  Turner 
lived  in  what  is  now  South  Coventry  Village,  so  the  management  was 
not  very  closely  confined  in  locating  its  gate. 

Main  and  Union  streets,  which  are  really  one,  in  Willimantic  were 
laid  out  in  1707  to  enable  the  first  Windham  settlers  at  the  Horseshoe  , 
to  carry  home  the  meadow  hay  which  they  cut  on  the  banks  of  the  Wil- 

1  Larned's  "History  of  Windham  County." 

[353] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   NEW    ENGLAND 

limantic  River.  The  turnpike  entered  this  old  road  at  the  point  where 
the  name  changes,  and  occupied  it  from  there  westerly. 

The  Windham  Turnpike  when  finally  completed  commenced  on  the 
New  London  and  Windham  County  Turnpike  in  Plainfield  Center  and 
led  westerly,  crossing  the  Quinebaug  River  and  passing  through  Can- 
terbury Center,  Westminster,  and  Scotland  to  Windham  Green,  where 
the  courthouse  stood.  Thence,  as  already  described,  through  Willi- 
mantic  and;  along  the  road  now  followed  by  the  South  Coventry  trolley 
cars  to  that  village.  There  it  provided  the  main  street  on  which  South 
Coventry  later  concentrated  and  passed  to  the  north  of  Lake  Wamgum- 
baug  to  a  junction  with  the  Boston  Turnpike  in  North  Coventry.  A 
glance  at  the  map  will  show  that  this  road  offered  as  direct  a  road  from 
Providence  to  Hartford  as  could  be  made  through  the  hills  of  eastern 
Connecticut.  It  was  an  important  route  before  the  day  of  the  turnpike, 
and  it  continued  so  until  the  railroad  took  the  burdens  from  the  horse. 

It  was  several  years  before  the  entire  project  was  completed,  as  is 
seen  from  an  act  passed  in  1804,  which  allowed  two  additional  gates 
when  the  road  was  finished. 

A  breaking  away  from  the  old  conceptions  which  placed  the  cost  of 
providing  the  land  for  turnpikes  on  the  towns  is  seen  in  an  act  of  May, 
1835.  The  corporation  had  petitioned  for  an  alteration  in  its  road 
from  the  bridge  across  the  Willimantic  River  between  Mansfield  and 
Coventry  to  Joseph  Talcott's  in  Coventry  and  asked  that  the  cost  of  the 
land  should  be  imposed  upon  the  town.  The  alteration  was  allowed  but 
not  the  share  of  the  expense.  The  corporation  had  to  buy  its  own  land, 
the  only  concession  being  that  it  might  increase  its  capital  by  the  amount 
of  that  cost. 

The  Hop  River  Turnpike  was  built  about  1835  and  entered  the 
Windham  at  the  westerly  end  of  the  present  city  of  Willimantic  oppo- 
site the  poor  farm.  Willimantic  by  this  time  was  becoming  a  place  of 
importance,  and  travelers  bound  there  over  the  Hop  River  objected  to 
paying  another  toll  for  passing  a  mile  over  the  Windham.  So  an  act 
passed  in  1838  provided  that  such  persons  might  pass  the  gate  which 
stood  on  Willimantic's  main  street  for  half  toll. 

The  Windham  Turnpike  passed  into  history  in  1852  when  its 
corporation  was  dissolved. 


THE   CANAAN   AND   LITCHFIELD  TURNPIKE 

This  road  was  authorized  from  Litchfield  courthouse  to  the  Shef- 
field Massachusetts  line,  but  it  is  unlikely  that  it  was  ever  built  over  that 
whole  distance.  At  Canaan  Village  the  Greenwoods  Turnpike  was 
encountered,  it  having  been  under  construction  when  the  charter  now 
being  considered  was  granted,  and  since  that  road  gave  access  to  the 
Massachusetts  line  it  was  useless  to  build  another  over  the  same  ground. 

t354l 


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In  the  southern  part  of  Franklin,  Conn. 
South  of  the  Connecticut  Agricultural  College 
Intersection  with  the  Boston  Turnpike 

Plate  XC  —  Windham  and  Mansfield  Turnpike 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 


The  Canaan  and  Litchfield  Turnpike  Company  was  enacted  into  life  at 
the  May  session  in  1799. 

The  turnpike  commenced  in  Litchfield  near  the  courthouse,  and  ran 
directly  to  Goshen  Center,  thence  it  bore  northwesterly,  cutting  off  a 
small  corner  of  Cornwall  and  passing  through  Cornwall  Hollow  into 
the  town  of  Canaan.  Another  northwesterly  bearing  carried  it  through 
Huntsville  and  South  Canaan,  from  which  place  the  road  headed  north- 
erly to  Canaan  Village,  where  it  joined  the  Greenwoods  Turnpike.  The 
turnpike  was  the  means  of  giving  to  Cornwall  its  first  blessing  of  a  daily 
mail,  the  post-office  being  established  in  Cornwall  Hollow,  we  read  in 
Gold's  "  History  of  Cornwall." 

Apparently  established  credits  and  book  accounts  were  not  recog- 
nized as  legitimate  in  those  early  days,  for  this  company  had  to  apply 
to  the  assembly  for  permission  "  to  contract  for  tolls  by  the  year  or  less 
term,"  which  was  granted  at  the  May  term  in  1801. 

The  life  of  this  corporation  must  have  been  a  quiet,  uneventful  one, 
for  it  lasted  for  many  years.  In  connection  with  the  Straits  Turnpike 
it  offered  a  long-distance  route  from  New  Haven  to  Albany  and  beyond 
to  the  valley  of  the  Susquehanna,  and  it  is  probable  that  much  heavy 
teaming  passed  over  it  for  many  years. 

In  1853  the  corporation,  representing  that  by  the  opening  of  rail- 
roads up  the  Housatonic  and  Naugatuck  valleys  its  business  had  been 
seriously  reduced,  was  released  from  its  obligations  to  maintain  the 
road. 

THE   FARMINGTON   RIVER   TURNPIKE 

The  opening  of  the  nineteenth  century  was  marked  by  the  incorpora- 
tion of  three  turnpike  corporations,  of  which  the  Farmington  River 
Turnpike  Company  was  one,  being  created  by  the  assembly  in  its  May 
session  of  1800. 

The  road  of  this  company  started  in  New  Hartford  at  the  junction 
of  the  Talcott  Mountain  and  Greenwoods  turnpikes,  and  followed  up 
the  east  bank  of  the  Farmington  River  to  the  Massachusetts  line,  where 
it  joined  the  Tenth  Massachusetts  Turnpike,  thus  providing  another 
through  route  from  Hartford  to  Albany  by  way  of  Lee  and  Lenox. 
It  passed  through  the  Connecticut  towns  of  Barkhamsted,  Hartland, 
and  Colebrook.  The  length  was  but  twelve  and  a  half  miles  and  two 
gates  were  allowed,  at  one  of  which  could  be  collected  only  half  the 
rates  allowed  at  the  other. 

About  1803  the  town  of  Barkhamsted  built  a  bridge  across  the 
Farmington  River  at  Pleasant  Valley,  and  so  much  of  the  travel  over 
the  Farmington  River  Turnpike  was  diverted  to  the  Greenwoods  by 
this  bridge  that  the  assembly  was  petitioned  ,to  allow  the  abandonment 
of  all  of  the  turnpike  south  of  the  point  of  diversion.  Hence  no  road 
is  found  to-day  on  the  east  bank  between  Pleasant  Valley  and  New 

[355] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


Hartford.  In  consequence  of  the  same  act  the  corporation  was  allowed 
to  improve  a  new  road  from  the  bridge  to  the  Greenwoods  Turnpike 
and  include  the  same  in  its  turnpike  system. 

An  addition  to  the  road  was  provided  by  an  act  of  1813,  since  which 
time  no  mention  of  this  corporation  has  been  found.  Local  histories 
are  also  silent. 


THE  WINDHAM  AND   MANSFIELD  TURNPIKE 

The  Windham  and  Mansfield  Turnpike  Company  was  another 
product  of  the  1800  May  session  and  its  route  was  denned  as  running 
from  Joshua  Hyde's  in  Franklin  to  the  meeting-house  in  Stafford.  The 
layout  had  been  made  by  a  committee  which  made  its  report  at  the  same 
time  that  the  act  of  incorporation  was  passed,  and  the  description  of 
the  route  teems  with  references  to  the  houses  of  old-time  residents. 
First  it  passed  Joshua  Hyde's  house,  then  Samuel  Hyde's  Tavern  and 
the  houses  of  Daniel  Ladd,  Levi  Gager,  and  Ephraim  Browning,  after 
which  the  route  reached  Manning's  Bridge,  an  old-time  structure  which 
crossed  the  Shetucket  River  at  the  northwesterly  corner  of  the  town  of 
Franklin.  Then  in  Windham  it  passed  Colonel  Thomas  Dyer's  house 
and  climbed  Sawyer's  Hill  to  Windham  Green.  Gilbert's  Bridge  car- 
ried the  turnpike  over  the  Natchaug  River  into  Mansfield,  in  which 
town  it  passed  Major  Crocker's,  Roswell  Eaton's,  and  Captain  Bar- 
rows' houses  and  Samuel  Thompson's  Tavern,  crossing  the  Boston 
Turnpike  at  Bardsley's  Corner.  Thence  it  passed  through  the  center 
of  Willington  to  Stafford  meeting-house. 

To-day  the  old  road  is  still  in  use  as  the  main  road  across  the  town 
of  Franklin  north  and  south,  but  the  mile  adjacent  to  the  Shetucket 
River  crossing  has  long  been  discontinued.  Near  where  the  Willimantic- 
Norwich  trolleys  cross  on  an  overhead  bridge  and  the  highway  turns 
sharply  to  the  left  to  cross  the  Central  Vermont  Railroad  at  grade,  an 
old  wood  road  can  be  seen  bearing  straight  ahead  to  the  north.  That 
is  the  old  turnpike  and  a  mile  along  it  will  bring  one  to  the  site  of 
Manning's  Bridge.  The  bridge  disappeared  many  years  ago,  but  the 
roads  on  each  side  leading  to  it  can  still  be  traced.  Gilbert's  Bridge, 
too,  has  long  been  gone,  and  its  site  is  covered  by  the  impounded  waters 
of  the  Willimantic  waterworks. 

In  May,  1806,  authority  was  secured  to  extend  the  turnpike  from 
Stafford  Center  toward  the  Massachusetts  line.  The  Stafford  Pool 
Turnpike  Company,  which  later  changed  its  name  to  the  Stafford  Min- 
eral Spring,  assumed  the  management  of  a  portion  of  this  road  under 
permission  given  in  an  act  of  October,  18 13. 

No  more  has  been  found  concerning  the  Windham  and  Mansfield 
except  that  it  occupied  the  attention  of  the  assembly  occasionally  until 
May,  1828,  when  certain  alterations  in  the  road  were  allowed. 
[356] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 


THE   CHESHIRE   TURNPIKE 

On  this  road  we  have  more  definite  information,  for  it  is  mentioned 
in  Timlow's  "  History  of  Southington,"  Beach's  "  History  of  Cheshire," 
Blake's  "  History  of  Hampden,"  and  by  Watrous  in  his  New  Haven 
contribution.  The  Cheshire  Turnpike  Company  was  also  formed  in 
May,  1800,  its  franchise  reading  "  through  Hampden  near  the  meeting- 
house as  reported  by  the  committee."  The  committee's  report  is  ac- 
cessible in  the  office  of  the  secretary  of  state  and  shows  the  route  beyond 
any  question.  It  commenced  in  the  center  of  Temple  Street  in  New 
Haven  and  followed  the  Hartford  and  New  Haven  Turnpike  for  178.71 
chains,  or  to  the  Gun  Factory  Dam,  and  it  extended  northerly  for  a 
total  distance  of  twenty-four  miles,  one  quarter,  sixty-two  rods,  and 
eleven  links  to  the  south  line  of  Farmington.  Two  gates  were  allowed, 
—  one  between  New  Haven  and  Hampden  and  the  other  between 
Cheshire  and  Southington.  A  bond  for  fifteen  thousand  dollars  was 
required  to  secure  payment  of  the  damages  and  assure  the  proper  main- 
tenance of  the  road. 

The  joint  use  with  the  Hartford  and  New  Haven  seems  to  have  been 
a  matter  of  controversy  for  several  years  until  18 15,  when  it  was  en- 
acted that  the  expenses  of  the  Hartford  and  New  Haven  in  keeping 
up  that  section  since  the  Cheshire'  commenced  using  it  should  be  one 
half  repaid  by  the  Cheshire  Company,  and  afterwards  equally  divided. 

It  was  only  a  few  years  prior  to  the  opening  of  this  turnpike  that 
Eli  Whitney,  tiring  of  the  vexatious  lawsuits  in  which  his  invention  of 
the  cotton  gin  had  involved  him  and  despairing  of  obtaining  justice, 
had  turned  his  attention  to  the  manufacture  of  muskets.  At  this  time 
he  was  engaged  in  filling  his  first  contract  for  ten  thousand  stand  for 
the  United  States  government  for  the  purpose  of  which  he  had  erected 
his  factory  at  the  foot  of  East  Rock,  now  the  village  of  Whitneyville. 
"  Whitney's  Gun  Factory  "  is  mentioned  often  in  the  acts  concerning 
the  two  turnpikes. 

In  Hampden  the  Cheshire  had  the  familiar  trouble  over  a  gate 
barring  travel  over  an  old  highway.  Passing  Mount  Carmel  an  old 
road  had  been  appropriated  which  did  not  seem  to  worry  anyone  until 
the  corporation  erected  its  gate  on  that  portion.  A  town  meeting  in 
August,  1803,  instructed  the  selectmen  to  request  the  removal  of  the 
gate  and,  in  case  of  refusal,  to  retaliate  by  taking  away  a  fence  be- 
longing to  the  town.  Request  and  threat  alike  failed  to  move  the  cor- 
poration, so  in  September  the  town  voted  to  petition  the  assembly 
to  order  the  gate  taken  off  the  town's  old  road.  What  the  result  was 
has  not  been  learned,  but  it  can  be  safely  surmised  that  the  corporation 
had  its  own  way. 

Cheshire's  history  contains  an  old  map  on  which  the  turnpike  is 
shown,  so  we  are  left  in  no  doubt  as  to  its  location  in  that  town.     Here 

[357] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

the  turnpike  project  was  hotly  opposed,  but  corporate  influence  pre- 
vailed and  certain  citizens  of  the  town  had  the  grace,  in  submitting,  to 
become  stockholders.  In  Southington  the  road  was  cut  through  a  ridge 
of  ground  which  extended  across  the  Common  from  the  northeast 
corner  to  the  south  end. 

That  the  road  was  in  operation  as  late  as  1856  is  shown  by  an  act 
passed  in  that  year  allowing  the  substitution  of  two  half-gates  for  one 
whole  one.     The  road  became,  free  within  the  next  twenty  years. 

When  the  New  Haven  and  Northampton  Railroad  was  laid  out  in 
1875  the  engineers  made  the  location  along  the  old  turnpike  from 
"  The  Steps  "  in  Mount  Carmel  to  Centerville,  and  proceeded  with  the 
construction.  Before  the  rails  were  laid  the  assembly  intervened  and 
decreed  that  the  town  should  buy  and  grade  a  new  right  of  way  in 
another  place,  for  which  the  railroad  company  should  pay  thirteen 
thousand  dollars  and  give  up  its  location  on  the  turnpike. 

THE   GRANBY  TURNPIKE 

The  Granby  Turnpike  Company  was  incorporated  in  October,  1 800, 
for  the  purpose  of  opening  a  turnpike  "  from  the  Massachusetts  line 
in  the  county  of  Hartford  to  the  Talcott  Mountain  Turnpike  near  the 
city  of  Hartford." 

Within  these  limitations  the  road  was  built  from  a  corner  with  the 
Talcott  Mountain  Turnpike  near  the  boundary  line  between  Hartford 
and  West  Hartford,  northwesterly  through  Bloomfield  Center,  North 
Bloomfield,  Tariffville,  Granby,  Pegville,  and  North  Granby  to  the 
northwest  corner  of  Granby  town.  The  road  was  about  twenty  miles 
long  and  the  company  had  the  privilege  of  erecting  two  gates  on  it. 

In  May,  1821,  the  location  of  the  road  was  confirmed  by  the  as- 
sembly, but  this  must  not  be  taken  to  mean  that  the  road  had  only  then 
been  completed.  More  likely  some  irregularity  had  occurred  in  the 
original  layout  which  had  been  allowed  to  slumber  until  someone,  brood- 
ing over  the  tolls  he  had  been  obliged  to  pay,  sought  to  obtain  revenge 
by  a  complaint.  Several  such  cases  have  been  observed,  in  all  of  which 
the  assembly  disposed  of  the  case  by  legalizing  the  corporation's 
position. 

This  turnpike  was  a  part  of  a  scheme  for  another  through  route 
from  Hartford  to  Albany,  but  the  Massachusetts  section  failed  to  mate- 
rialize. We  have  already  seen  how  the  Eleventh  Massachusetts  Turn- 
pike Corporation  secured  a  franchise  in  1801  and  how,  eight  years  later, 
the  Granville  Turnpike  Corporation  received  a  charter  to  build  over 
identically  the  same  route.  Their  plan  was  to  connect  at  the  state  line 
with  the  Granby  Turnpike  and  to  continue  the  route  through  the  Massa- 
chusetts towns  of  Granville  and  Blandford  to  a  junction  with  the  Hamp- 
den and  Berkshire  Turnpike  at  Blandford  Center.  The  Hampden  and 
Berkshire,  by  its  connections  with  the  Tenth  Massachusetts  and  the 
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THE   TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 

Housatonic  River  turnpikes,  led  by  at  least  two  different  improved 
routes  to  the  Hudson  River.  But  as  we  have  said,  the  link  from  the 
Hampden  and  Berkshire  to  the  Connecticut  line  was  ever  missing. 

The  turnpike  corporations  were  held  strictly  in  hand  even  as  late  as 
1845,  for  we  find  an  act  by  which  the  location  of  the  Granby's  gate  in 
Bloomfield  was  legalized.  Some  detail  in  the  formalities  required  in 
changing  the  location  of  a  gate  had  not  been  observed  and  complaint 
had  been  made,  but  the  assembly  disposed  of  the  matter  by  making  the 
gate  lawful  and  confirming  all  past  doings  thereat. 

The  Granby  Turnpike  continued  in  business  until  1854  when  its 
charter  was  annulled. 


THE  HARTFORD  AND  NEW  LONDON  TURNPIKE 

This  road  was  built  by  the  Hartford  and  New  London  Turnpike 
Company,  which  received  the  right  to  operate  a  turnpike  from  the  as- 
sembly of  October,  1800.  As  originally  built  the  turnpike  ran  from 
East  Hartford,  five  miles  down  the  river  along  the  road  now  followed 
by  the  South  Glastonbury  trolley  cars,  as  far  as  Glastonbury;  thence 
southeasterly  through  Marlboro  Mills  and  Marlboro  to  Colchester. 
From  there  it  turned  more  to  the  south  and  passed  through  Salem  and 
Chesterfield  Village,  across  the  town  of  Waterford,  and  entered  New 
London  over  what  is  now  Broad  Street.  Miss  Caulkins,  in  her  "  His- 
tory of  New  London,"  says  that  the  corporation  improved  an  old  high- 
way from  State  to  Hempstead  streets  and  then  built  a  new  road  to 
Colchester,  passing  more  to  the  north  than  by  the  old  route. 

All  of  the  road  northerly  of  the  "  two  mile  stone  "  in  East  Hartford 
was  made  public  in  May,  1807,  and  in  May,  1829,  all  east  of  Hunting- 
ton Street  in  New  London  was  discontinued  as  a  turnpike  and  made  a 
part  of  the  city's  streets.  In  1839  the  company  represented  to  the  as- 
sembly that  for  five  miles,  at  the  northerly  end,  its  road  was  the  main 
street  of  East  Hartford  and  of  Glastonbury,  and  that  over  it  was 
hauled  "  large  quantities  of  coal,  wood,  and  other  heavy  articles," 
which  wore  out  the  road.  Inasmuch  as  the  corporation  was  not  allowed 
to  maintain  a  gate  on  that  section  and  therefore  collected  no  tolls  from 
such  traffic,  its  petition  to  be  relieved  of  that  portion  of  its  road  was 
granted.  Authority  to  transfer  to  New  London  all  of  the  road  be- 
tween Pound  and  Huntington  streets  was  given  in  1845.  The  balance 
of  the  turnpike  was  collecting  tolls  in  1852  and  probably  for  many 
years  longer. 

From  "  Famous  Old  Taverns  of  New  London  "  x  we  learn  that  the 
stage  for  Hartford  left  New  London  on  Tuesdays  and  Thursdays  at 
eight  in  the  morning  in  the  year  18 18,  returning  Wednesdays  and 
Fridays.  The  New  London  terminus  was  at  the  Dutton  House,  a 
tavern  so  old  that  it  had  been  built  by  John  Richards,  who  died  in 

1  By  James  L.  Chew,  in  Papers  of  the  New  London  County  Historical  Society. 

[359] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

1720.  H.  G.  Broome,  a  veteran  stage  driver,  was  the  proprietor  and 
rein  manipulator  of  this  line,  and  his  business  must  have  seemed  pre- 
carious for  he  appears  to  have  been  easily  discouraged.  In  the  fall  of 
1823  a  biweekly  steamship  line  was  started  from  New  London  along 
the  Sound  and  up  the  Connecticut  River  to  Hartford,  and  Broome 
issued  an  announcement  under  date  of  October  5,  1823,  that  he  feared 
that  the  competition  of  this  steamer,  which  was  named  The  Experiment, 
would  prove  disastrous  to  his  business  and  therefore  he  withdrew  his 
stages.  But  Broome  continued  driving  for  many  years  longer  on  the 
shorter  runs  to  Norwich,  Colchester,  and  Lyme. 

•  THE   FARMINGTON   AND   BRISTOL  TURNPIKE 

In  the  published  acts  of  Connecticut  we  read  only  that  the  Farming- 
ton  and  Bristol  Turnpike  Company  was  incorporated  in  May,  1801, 
and  that  its  charter  was  revoked  in  May,  18 19;  but  the  reader  inter- 
ested in  turnpike  history  is  entitled  to  know  more. 

This  company  received  in  its  act  of  incorporation  the  right  to  build 
a  road  from  the  end  of  the  Litchfield  and  Harwinton  Turnpike  in 
Bristol,  now  Burlington,  to  Thompson's  Corner  at  the  north  end  of 
the  town  street  in  Farmington  and  thence  to  Hartford.  The  committee 
appointed  to  make  the  layout  of  the  road  commenced  its  labors  at  the 
west  door  of  the  courthouse  in  Hartford  and  laid  out  the  present  Asy- 
lum Street,  Farmington  Avenue,  and  Main  Street  in  Farmington. 
Thence  it  continued  to  the  east  end  of  the  Litchfield  and  Harwinton 
Turnpike  in  the  northwest  part  of  Burlington,  which  was  then  a  part 
of  Bristol. 

The  Hartford  courthouse  stood  on  Main  Street  at  the  corner  of 
State  and  nearly  opposite  the  end  of  Asylum  Street.  The  first  building 
was  erected  in  17 1 9  but  the  present  building,  which  for  many  years 
served  as  Hartford's  city  hall,  was  built  in  1796.  During  the  life  of 
the  turnpike  the  old  courthouse  sheltered  the  delegates  to  the  Hartford 
Convention  in  18 14,  that  famous  gathering  of  pacifists  who  sought  to 
end  the  War  of  181 2.  Recently  the  city  has  erected  a  much  more  pre- 
tentious office  building  two  blocks  farther  south  on  Main  Street  and 
has  vacated  the  old  brick  house. 

Construction  of  the  turnpike  was  evidently  slow,  for  the  company 
was  back  in  May,  1802,  asking  for  a  revision  of  the  layout.  In  yield- 
ing to  the  direct-line  obsession  a  saving  of  eight  rods  had  been  made 
by  cutting  across  some  valuable  land,  and  permission  was  given  to  make 
a  desired  detour.  That  the  road  was  finished  in  1805  is  seen  from  an 
act  by  which  alterations  were  allowed  in  the  location  of  certain  gates 
which  were  being  avoided  by  the  familiar  device  of  a  shunpike. 

In  May,  18 19,  the  company  petitioned  the  assembly  to  be  released 
from  its  obligations.  The  road  had  never  paid  and  the  investment  of 
$15,232.10  was  a  total  loss.  In  compliance  the  corporation  was  re- 
[360] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 

leased  from  its  burden  of  maintaining  the  road  and  its  charter  was 
"  disannulled." 

The  portion  between  Hartford  and  Farmington  formed  a  part  of 
the  so-called  Hartford  and  Danbury  Turnpike,  the  Middle  Road  Turn- 
pike Company,  incorporated  in  October,  1803,  maintaining  a  road  from 
Farmington  to  Danbury. 

The  layout  committee  reported  the  entire  length  of  the  Farmington 
and  Bristol  Turnpike  as  nineteen  miles,  fifty-six  rods,  and  twenty-one 
links,  which  we  have  seen  was  later  increased  by  eight  rods.  Thus  we 
are  enabled  to  compute  that  the  road  cost  at  the  rate  of  $793.23  a 
mile. 

At  the  time  this  charter  was  granted,  Hartford  was  a  small  city 
mostly  along  the  river  front,  but  to-day  Asylum  Street  is  a  crowded 
city  thoroughfare  with  the  up-to-date  rule  of  one-way  traffic  in  force. 
On  Farmington  Avenue,  over  a  mile  out,  the  author  had  difficulty  in 
exposing  for  photographs  on  account  of  the  constant  passing  of  auto- 
mobiles, trolley  cars,  and  other  vehicles.  If  the  old  corporation  could 
collect  its  tolls  to-day  it  would  be  but  a  few  days  before  it  had  recouped 
its  $15,232.10. 


THE   DANBURY  AND   RIDGEFIELD   TURNPIKE 

This  was  a  short  road  connecting  the  two  adjoining  towns  named. 
It  was  built  by  the  Danbury  and  Ridgefield  Turnpike  Company  which 
was  chartered  in  May,  1801.  The  route  proposed  is  so  indefinitely 
described  that  one  cannot  pick  out  the  road  followed,  but  apparently  it 
was  the  Sugar  Hollow  Road  of  southwest  Danbury.  An  alteration  was 
made  in  1832,  and  the  turnpike  continued  to  be  operated  until  June  23, 
i860,  when  its  charter  was  repealed.  , 

In  1829  another  corporation,  the  Sugar  Hollow  Turnpike  Company, 
was  formed,  which  continued  the  Danbury  and  Ridgefield  on  each  end. 
On  the  south  it  made  connection  with  the  Norwalk  and  Danbury  and 
over  that  to  the  sea  at  Norwalk,  while  on  the  north  an  extension  to  the 
New  York  line  was  provided. 


THE  TORRINGTON  TURNPIKE 

The  Torrington  Turnpike  Company,  chartered  in  May,  1801,  had  a 
right  to  build  from  West  Simsbury  to  Litchfield  courthouse,  and  the 
road  built  in  accordance  passed  through  the  intervening  towns  of  Tor- 
rington, New  Hartford,  and  Canton,  crossing  both  the  Waterbury  and 
Farmington  rivers.  This  was  the  company  which  found  itself  in  ill 
favor  with  the  assembly  on  account  of  an  early  anticipation  of  "  excess 
land  condemnation."  The  locating  committee,  finding  that  the  inter- 
section which  they  had  made  with  the  Talcott  Mountain  Turnpike  was 

[361] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   NEW    ENGLAND 


at  so  slight  an  angle  as  to  make  the  land  between  of  little  value,  had 
made  a  taking  of  the  entire  triangle  from  Samuel  Humphrey,  Jr.,  of 
Canton.  This  was  subsequently  represented  as  illegal,  inasmuch  as  by 
that  action  a  layout  in  excess  of  four  rods  in  width  had  been  made  at 
that  point.  The  assembly  of  1805  was  convinced  of  the  illegality  and 
ordered  the  land  to  be  restored  to  the  former  owner. 

The  town  of  Torrington  did  not  welcome  the  turnpike  with  cordiality 
according  to  Orcutt's  history,  as  it  was  obliged  to  buy  the  necessary  land 
and  build  a  bridge  over  the  Waterbury  River  for  the  use  of  the  com- 
pany. A  tax  of  five  cents  per  thousand  dollars  was  voted  to  pay  for  the 
land  in  1801  but  the  building  of  the  bridge  was  flatly  refused  until  twice 
ordered  by  the  courts.  In  the  end  the  town  was  more  benefited  by  the 
turnpike  than  the  stockholders. 

Of  the  bridge  over  the  Farmington  River  in  Canton  we  hear  nothing 
until  1857,  when  it  met  a  common  fate  of  bridges  in  being  swept  down- 
stream. The  town  did  not  see  fit  to  replace  it  but  did  erect  another 
bridge  about  one  hundred  rods  farther  up-stream  which  left  certain  stub 
ends  of  useless  turnpike.  Consequently  the  company  secured  the  pas- 
sage of  an  act  in  1859  by  which  it  was  allowed  to  build  connecting  sec- 
tions of  road,  giving  access  to  the  new  bridge,  and  abandon  the  parts 
of  no  further  use  to  it. 

In  1838  all  of  the  turnpike  east  of  Luther  Higley's  in  Canton  was 
given  over  to  the  public,  and  in  1861,  Orcutt  says,  the  company  sur- 
rendered its  charter. 


THE   NORWICH   AND   WOODSTOCK  TURNPIKE 

The  story  of  this  road  is  all  in  legislative  acts.  The  act  of  incorpora- 
tion was  passed  in  May,  1801,  forming  the  Norwich  and  Woodstock 
Turnpike  Company  for  the  purpose  of  building  from  Norwich  Landing 
through  Lisbon,  Canterbury,  Brooklyn,  Pomfret,  Woodstock,  and 
Thompson.  The  route  was  described  and  the  layout  declared  a  public 
highway  and  immediately  given  to  the  newly  formed  corporation  on  its 
agreement  to  make  and  maintain  the  same.  Three  gates  were  to  be 
allowed,  —  one  near  the  Norwich-Lisbon  line,  one  in  the  south  part  of 
Brooklyn,  and  one  in  Woodstock. 

By  the  inclusion  of  Thompson  among  the  towns  to  be  crossed,  it 
seems  that  the  intention  was  to  make  a  connection  with  the  Ninth  Massa- 
chusetts Turnpike  and  to  open  a  route  from  Norwich  to  Boston,  but, 
if  so,  that  idea  did  not  hold  long,  for  an  amendment  was  enacted  in 
1 803  by  which  the  road  could  be  built  from  Woodstock  to  the  Massa- 
chusetts line  in  the  direction  of  Sturbridge.  By  building  on  this  line  no 
connection  was  made  at  the  state  line  with  any  Massachusetts  turnpike 
but  the  journey  to  Sturbridge  was  continued  over  public  highways.  The 
decision  to  bear  northwesterly  instead  of  heading  for  a  direct  connection 
with  the  Ninth  Massachusetts  was  a  wise  one  and  avoided  an  error  too 
[362] 


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THE   TURNPIKES    OF   CONNECTICUT 

often  made  by  early  turnpike  promoters,  who  were  far  too  apt  to  dupli- 
cate facilities.  We  have  seen  in  Rhode  Island  how  certain  parties  sought 
to  build  a  road  between  two  turnpikes  already  in  operation  and  but  a 
few  miles  apart,  and  in  Massachusetts  the  multiplicity  of  propositions 
for  reaching  Boston  from  southern  New  Hampshire.  In  this  case  the 
Norwich  traveler  wishing  to  reach  Boston  was  fully  as  well  served  by 
going  on  to  the  Boston  Turnpike  at  Pomfret  Center  as  if  the  road  had 
gone  directly  to  the  northeast  corner  of  the  state,  while  the  great  tend- 
ency of  travel,  which  then  existed  in  a  northwesterly  direction,  was  also 
accommodated. 

An  additional  gate  was  allowed  in  1827  which  calls  for  comment, 
on  account  of  so  many  years  elapsing  before  this  sign  of  distress  ap- 
peared. Generally  the  extra  gate  was  found  necessary  within  a  very 
short  time.  In  1829  it  was  provided  that  no  carriage  should  be  entitled 
to  reductions  in  toll  because  it  carried  the  mail.  The  question  of  ex- 
emption for  mail  carriers  was  one  which  cropped  out  frequently  and  in 
many  places,  being  finally  settled,  as  we  have  seen,  in  connection  with  the 
Maysville  Turnpike  in  Kentucky. 

The  Woodstock  portion  of  the  road  was  made  free  in  1836,  but  the 
rest  of  the  turnpike  continued  as  such  for  another  ten  years. 

In  1846  the  corporation  represented  to  the  assembly  that  the  cost 
of  the  road  had  been  over  fourteen  thousand  dollars  and  that  no  "  con- 
siderable profit"  had  ever  been  realized;  that  since  the  operation  of 
the  Norwich  and  Worcester  Railroad  the  income  had  not  been  sufficient 
to  provide  for  the  necessary  repairs  and  that  no  dividends  had  been 
paid  for  six  years.  Consequently  the  corporation  was  relieved  of  the 
balance  of  its  road  which  thereafter  was  free. 

The  Norwich  and  Worcester  Railroad  was  authorized  by  legislative 
acts  in  Massachusetts  in  April,  and  in  Connecticut  in  May,  1836,  al- 
though earlier  charters  had  been  granted  in  1832  and  1833.  It  is  to 
be  noted  in  connection  with  the  northerly  and  southerly  trend  of  com- 
merce at  that  time,  that  this  railroad  was  projected  while  the  first  rail- 
roads in  New  England  were  yet  under  construction. 

From  the  above  figures  we  see  that  the  turnpike,  being  about  thirty- 
eight  miles  in  length,  cost  at  the  rate  of  about  three  hundred  and  seventy 
dollars  per  mile,  the  lowest  figure  we  have  yet  noted.  Connecticut  roads 
naturally  cost  much  less  than  those  in  other  states,  where  a  more  equit- 
able method  of  providing  for  land  and  bridges  prevailed,  but  even 
allowing  for  that  the  cost  is  very  low. 

THE   SALISBURY  AND   CANAAN  TURNPIKE 

This  was  a  turnpike  away  up  in  the  northwest  corner  of  the  state  and 
apparently  it  did  quite  an  amount  of  business  during  its  twenty-eight 
years  of  existence.  The  published  acts  deal  more  harshly  with  this 
road  than  with  the  others,  for,  besides  merely  noting  its  discontinuance, 

[363] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

they  give  its  name  wrongly.  In  them  you  will  find  a  reference  to  the 
Salisbury  Turnpike  Company  but  only  the  date  of  the  revoking  of  the 
charter. 

The  Salisbury  and  Canaan  Turnpike  Company  was  created  by  act 
of  the  October  session  of  1801,  when  it  was  authorized  to  open  a  road 
from  the  Canaan  and  Litchfield  Turnpike  near  Simeon  Higley's 
dwelling-house,  by  way  of  Burrall's  Bridge  and  the  furnace  in  Salisbury, 
to  the  New  York  line. 

Burrall's  Bridge  was  the  first  bridge  built  over  the  Housatonic  River 
and  was  erected  about  the  year  1744.  It  was  later  called  the  Falls 
Bridge  and  occupied  the  site  of  the  present  bridge  at  Falls  Village. 
Although  later  there  were  several  furnaces  in  Salisbury,  at  the  date 
of  this  charter  there  was  but  one  and  it  stood  in  what  is  now  the  village 
of  Lakeville.  A  grade  of  ore  somewhat  better  than  the  average  found 
in  New  England  gave  encouragement  for  the  establishment  of  an  iron 
industry,  and  a  forge  was  built  there  about  1748.  This  was  supplanted 
in  1762  by  a  blast  furnace,  said  to  have  been  the  first  in  Connecticut, 
which  was  sold  in  1768  to  Richard  Smith  of  Boston.  On  account  of  his 
loyalty  to  his  sovereign  in  England  Smith  found  it  advisable  to  leave 
the  country  with  the  British  troops  when  Boston  was  evacuated,  and  his 
ironworks  were  confiscated  by  the  state.  With  the  royalist's  plant  many 
cannon  were  cast  for  the  Continental  army,  and  it  is  said  that  the  guns 
which  belched  defeat  for  the  opponents  of  the  Constellation  and  the 
Constitution  were  also  products  of  this  same  Furnace  Village.1 

The  road  was  completed  promptly,  for  in  one  year  from  the  date  of 
incorporation,  trouble  had  been  found  on  account  of  an  omission  in  the 
rates  of  toll.  Sleds  and  single  horse  carts  had  not  been  considered,  and 
an  act  passed  in  October,  1802,  provided  what  tolls  such  should  pay. 

An  instance  of  the  ample  protection  given  to  the  public  interests  is 
found  in  the  proceedings  for  the  changing  of  the  position  of  a  tollgate. 
In  May,  1806,  upon  petition  of  the  company,  a  committee  was  ap- 
pointed to  consider  a  change  and  report  to  the  next  session.  In  October 
the  committee  asked  for  more  time  and  was  continued,  and  in  May, 
1807,  one  year  from  the  first  action,  the  western  gate  was  allowed  to 
be  moved. 

In  May,  1829,  the  assembly  accepted  the  surrender  of  the  charter, 
dissolved  the  corporation,  and  imposed  the  maintenance  of  the  turnpike 
upon  the  towns  of  Salisbury  and  Canaan. 


THE   BRIDGEPORT   AND   NEWTOWN   TURNPIKE 

The  Bridgeport  and  Newtown  Turnpike  Company  was  incorporated 
in  October,  1801.  Its  franchise  read  from  the  north  line  of  Bridgeport 
to  the  south  line  of  New  Milford,  but  the  road  was  built  and  operated 

1  "  Memorial  History  of  Litchfield  County,"  published  by  J.  W.  Lewis  and  Company. 

T364] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 

farther  south  and  within  the  town  of  Bridgeport  without  any  other 
authority  as  far  as  we  have  learned. 

The  turnpike  extended  from  Bridgeport  northerly,  practically  along 
the  route  later  occupied  by  the  Housatonic  Railroad,  and  passed  through 
the  towns  of  Trumbull,  Monroe,  Newtown,  and  Brookfield  to  the  line 
of  New  Milford. 

An  interesting  feature  connected  with  land  ownership  where  the 
towns  had  paid  for  the  same  is  to  be  noted  here,  as  in  the  twenties  the 
corporation  was  allowed  to  sell  what  land  it  wished  as  long  as  the  width 
of  the  road  was  not  reduced  below  three  rods. 

In  May,  1835,  alterations  were  permitted  by  which  the  road  could 
be  located  so  as  to  "  avoid  two  considerable  hills,"  one  of  which  was 
known  as  "  Pine  Swamp  Hill." 

In  1848  all  of  the  road  in  Bridgeport  and  all  north  of  the  crossing 
of  the  Housatonic  Railroad,  including  about  two  miles  in  Newtown  and 
all  in  Brookfield,  was  declared  free,  the  corporation  being  directed  to 
pay  Brookfield  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  to  compensate  that  town 
for  the  burden  imposed  upon  it.  A  toll  house  and  gate  with  a  quarter 
of  an  acre  of  land  were  situated  upon  the  Newtown  portion  thus  dis- 
continued and  this  the  corporation  was  allowed  to  sell  for  its  own 
benefit. 

March  24,  1886,  marks  the  end  of  the  Bridgeport  and  Newtown 
Turnpike,  as  on  that  day  the  assembly  made  provision  for  the  discon- 
tinuance of  the  balance  of  the  road. 

THE   WATERBURY   RIVER   TURNPIKE 

This  road  was  originally  projected  "  from  Woodbridge  through 
Plymouth  .  .  ."  to  the  Massachusetts  line  and  was  so  specified  in  the 
charter,  which  also  designated  the  crossing  of  the  Waterbury  River  as 
in  Plymouth,  but  in  May,  1802,  alterations  in  the  route  were  allowed 
which  placed  the  turnpike  in  a  far  different  and  more  logical  place. 

The  Waterbury  River  Turnpike  Company  was  chartered  in  October, 
1 80 1,  and  built  its  road  from  a  point  near  Naugatuck  Center  up  the 
east  bank  of  the  Naugatuck  River  through  Waterbury  and  Thomaston 
as  far  as  Thomaston  Center,  where  it  crossed  the  Naugatuck  and  con- 
tinued up  the  west  bank  through  Litchfield  to  Torrington.  Thence  it 
bore  northerly  across  Torrington  and  Winchester  to  Colebrook  Center, 
from  which  place  it  ran  northwesterly  to  the  Massachusetts  line  at  the 
corner  of  Colebrook  and  Norfolk,  where  it  joined  the  road  of  the 
Fifteenth  Massachusetts  Turnpike  Corporation  and  opened  another 
route  to  Albany.  Orcutt's  "  History  of  Wolcott"  speaks  of  a  turnpike 
project  to  connect  Torrington  with  New  Haven,  which  was  much 
favored  by  the  town  but  did  not  succeed.  Probably  that  refers  to  the 
Waterbury  River  proposition  which  was  diverted  from  Wolcott  to  the 
more  favorable  location  in  the  valley  of  the  Naugatuck. 

[365] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


Anderson  tells,  in  the  "  History  of  Waterbury,"  that  the  turnpike 
was  built  through  the  cemetery  above  Salem  (Naugatuck)  Bridge  and 
that  graves  were  ruthlessly  opened  and  the  bones  scattered  about. 
Tradition  has  it  that  all  of  the  stock  at  one  time  was  owned  by  Victory 
Tomlinson,  a  man  so  rich  that  he  could  be  careless  in  his  dress.  Seated 
one  day  by  the  side  of  his  turnpike  he  was  arrested  for  vagrancy  and 
haled  before  a  justice  who  acquitted  him  upon  his  plea  that  he  was 
occupying  his  own  land. 

Boyd's  "  Annals  of  Winchester "  describes  this  turnpike  and  says 
that  it  was  given  up  in  1850.  That  is  true  regarding  most  of  the  road, 
but  about  eight  miles  in  Naugatuck  and  Waterbury  remained  subject 
to  toll  collections  until  July,  1862,  when,  upon  representations  that  even 
that  small  section  was  out  of  repair  and  unsafe,  the  assembly  repealed 
the  charter  of  the  corporation. 

An  ancient  highway  between  Plymouth  and  the  Naugatuck  Bridge 
was  deprived  of  its  public  character  and  given  to  the  corporation,  and 
of  it  Bronson  has  this  to  say  in  his  "  History  of  Waterbury  " : 

The  present  turnpike  from  Plymouth  to  Salem  [Naugatuck]  bridge,  there  to  unite 
with  the  Straits  turnpike  connecting  New  Haven  with  Litchfield  by  Watertown, 
was  finished  in  1702.    It  was  an  open  highway  and  a  great  undertaking. 


THE  HARTFORD  AND  TOLLAND  TURNPIKE 

From  the  courthouse  in  Tolland  to  the  state  house  in  Hartford 
seemed  sufficiently  promising  for  a  turnpike  to  justify  the  incorporation 
of  the  Hartford  and  Tolland  Turnpike  Company  in  October,  1801. 
At  that  time  the  only  means  of  crossing  the  Connecticut  River  at  Hart- 
ford was  the  ferry  of  which  we  have  already  read.  So  at  that  ferry  the 
turnpike  was  made  to  terminate.  Goodwin,  in  "  East  Hartford  History 
and  Traditions,"  wrote  that  the  turnpike  followed  the  "  road  coming 
from  the  ferry  landing  to  Bigelow  Hall  Building  and  thence  over  Main 
Street  to  Burnside  Avenue,"  whence  it  ran  straight  to  Bucklands  Cor- 
ner. In  the  eastern  part  of  East  Hartford  it  followed  the  old  road 
called  "  the  road  east  near  Gilman's  Brook,"  which  was  laid  out  in 

1734- 

On  account  of  an  error  in  the  original  survey  a  corrected  description 
by  metes  and  bounds  was  confirmed  by  an  act  of  May,  1804,  and  further 
acts  authorizing  the  moving  of  gates  are  found  in  1836  and  1852. 

For  the  first  seven  years  of  turnpike  operation  its  travelers  were 
wafted  across  the  Connecticut  River  by  the  ferry  until,  in  1808,  the 
Hartford  Bridge  Company  was  incorporated  for  the  purpose  of  provid- 
ing a  toll  bridge  a  short  distance  above  the  ferry. 

The  first  bridge  built  by  this  company  was  a  low  uncovered  structure 
which,  while  it  lasted,  was  obliged  to  compete  with  the  ferry  for  the 
scanty  pickings  offered  by  travelers.  But  the  bridge  was  soon  washed 
[366] 


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THE   TURNPIKES    OF   CONNECTICUT 

away,  and  to  encourage  its  rebuilding  the  assembly  suppressed  the  ferry 
on  condition  that  the  bridge  should  be  replaced  by  a  more  substantial 
construction.  The  subsequent  bridge  or  bridges  continued  to  serve  the 
public  on  consideration  of  tolls  until  1879,  when  it  was  thrown  open  to 
the  public. 

East  Hartford  persistently  appealed  to  the  assembly  for  the  restora- 
tion of  the  ferry  until  1836,  when  success  met  its  efforts,  but  the  privilege 
was  finally  taken  away,  never  to  be  restored,  in  1841. 

A  monumental  masonry  structure  now  occupies  the  site  of  the  old 
toll  bridge. 

The  Hartford  and  Tolland  Turnpike  became  later,  when  the  Staf- 
ford Pool  Turnpike  and  the  Worcester  and  Stafford  Turnpike  were 
opened,  a  part  of  a  through  route  to  Boston  by  way  of  Worcester,  and 
the  indications  are  that  a  heavy  travel  passed  over  the  road  for  many 
years. 

The  old  road  to  the  ferry  is  now  known  as  Governor  Street,  but  the 
portion  south  of  the  bridge  has  disappeared  from  the  sight  of  man. 
The  traffic  requirements  of  late  years  demanded  the  construction  of  the 
present  straight  boulevard  from  the  bridge  to  Church  Corner,  and 
Governor  Street  ends  at  the  intersection.  The  site  of  the  eastern  ferry 
landing  is  now  occupied  by  the  shipyard  of  the  Hartford  and  New  York 
Transportation  Company. 

Turning  sharply  to  the  left  where  the  Bigelow  Hall  Building  now 
stands  the  turnpike  followed  the  lines  of  Main  Street  to  Burnside 
Avenue,  over  which  it  continued  to  the  present  corner  with  Tolland 
Street.  Over  Tolland  Street  it  went  and  crossed  the  northerly  part  of 
Manchester,  through  Vernon  Center,  to  Tolland  courthouse. 

THE   POMFRET  AND  KILLINGLY  TURNPIKE 

In  Larned's  history  we  read  that  the  citizens  of  Killingly  gave  much 
consideration  in  the  early  years  of  the  century  to  the  matter  of  trans- 
portation, finally  deciding,  in  1801,  to  support  a  turnpike  proposition 
to  connect  the  Norwich  Turnpike  in  Pomfret  with  the  Glocester  Turn- 
pike in  Rhode  Island.  It  seems  that  such  a  vote  must  have  been  .secured 
by  some  old-time  parliamentary  trick,  for  the  town  was  in  no  position 
to  aid  in  construction  and  later  showed  a  decided  disinclination  to  do  so. 

The  Pomfret  and  Killingly  Turnpike  Company  was  created  in  May, 
1802,  but,  since  the  charter  was  revoked  in  18 19,  the  compiler  of  the 
special  laws  gave  no  details  of  the  act  of  incorporation  and  access  must 
be  had  to  the  spacious  vault  in  the  basement  of  the  Hartford  capitol, 
where  the  manuscript  records  of  the  assembly  are  kept.  There  we  find 
the  route  described,  —  from  the  Boston  Turnpike  in  Pomfret  through 
Killingly  eastward  to  the  Glocester  Turnpike  at  the  Rhode  Island  line. 
Eight  and  one  quarter  miles  was  the  length  and,  following  the  precedent 
set  in  the  formation  of  many  Rhode  Island  companies,  the  corporation 

[367] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

was  allowed  to  hold  land  not  in  excess  of  thirty  acres.  The  petitioners 
had  estimated  that  their  road  would  cost  at  the  rate  of  five  hundred 
dollars  a  mile,  but  their  ultimate  opinions  are  not  available. 

Miss  Larned  says  that  the  road  was  completed  in  1803  and  that 
it  passed  over  Killingly  Hill  by  the  meeting-house.  Killingly,  exhausted 
by  previous  heavy  expenses,  refused  to  build  any  part  of  the  new  bridge 
demanded  by  the  corporation  until  cited  to  court  for  its  neglect.  Then 
the  town  grudgingly  gave  in  and  appointed  a  committee  which  per- 
formed the  work  in  the  same  grudging  spirit,  doing  the  construction  so 
poorly  that  the  structure  was  soon  washed  away.  Then  Killingly  had 
to  do  it  over  again.  A  bridge  over  the  Quinebaug  in  Pomfret  was  built 
at  divided  cost  by  the  corporation  and  town  after  a  controversy. 

In  1809  the  Glocester  Turnpike  Company  of  Rhode  Island  joined 
with  various  Connecticut  citizens  in  protesting  the  location  of  a  gate  on 
the  Pomfret  and  Killingly,  which  had  been  erected  within  one  hundred 
and  sixty  rods  of  the  Rhode  Island  line  and  in  such  a  place  that  it  in- 
tercepted such  travelers  as  journeyed  easterly  over  an  old  road  which 
entered  the  turnpike  forty  rods  west  of  the  offending  gate.  Thus,  it  is 
seen,  the  Pomfret  and  Killingly  was  collecting  full  tolls  from  people 
who  were  using  its  road  for  a  distance  of  only  two  hundred  rods.  The 
protest  being  laid  before  the  assembly  resulted  in  the  appointment  of 
a  committee  charged  to  change  the  gate  to  another  location. 

The  road  was  abandoned  by  its  proprietors  about  18 17,  and  the 
bridge  in  Killingly  was  taken  down.  In  May,  1 8 19,  the  charter  was 
revoked. 


THE   HEBRON   AND    MIDDLE   HADDAM   TURNPIKE 

The  Hebron  and  Middle  Haddam  Turnpike  Company  was  chartered 
in  May,  1802,  and  built  its  road  from  the  meeting-house  in  Hebron 
through  Hebron,  Colchester,  and  Chatham  to  Middle  Haddam  Land- 
ing on  the  Connecticut  River.  A  portion  of  this  old  road  appears  on 
the  road  maps  to-day  with  the  label  of  "  Turnpike  "  against  it,  but  very 
little  has  been  found  regarding  the  operations  of  the  company. 

Much  trouble  seems  to  have  been  met  in  collecting  tolls,  for  the  mov- 
ing of  a  gate  was  allowed  in  1830,  1844,  and  1846.  From  this  we  see 
that  the  turnpike  enjoyed  a  life  of  at  least  forty-four  years. 


THE   MIDDLESEX  TURNPIKE 

The  Middlesex  Turnpike  Company,  which  was  incorporated  in  May, 
1 802,  built  a  road  from  the  sixth  milestone  from  Hartford,  at  Goff's 
Brook,  in  the  town  of  Wethersfield,  to  the  stage  road  in  Saybrook, 
passing  through  Middletown  and  over  Walkley  Hill  in  Haddam.  The 
t368] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 

corporation  was  required  to  file  a  bond  for  thirty  thousand  dollars, 
guaranteeing  to  complete  its  road  before  the  first  of  November,  1804. 

In  May,  1804,  the  company  was  allowed  to  make  an  alteration  in  its 
layout,  taking  for  that  purpose  a  section  of  old  public  highway.  Follow- 
ing the  custom  the  assembly  proceeded  to  take  from  this  piece  of  road 
its  public  dedication,  which  it  did  by  resolving  that  it  "  be  and  the  same 
hereby  is  not  a  highway." 

The  ride  along  this  turnpike  must  have  been  one  of  the  most  inspiring 
in  Connecticut,  for  it  followed  closely  along  the  bank  of  the  Connecti- 
cut River  from  a  point  six  miles  below  Hartford,  nearly  to  the  mouth. 
Until  1 87 1,  when  the  Connecticut  Valley  Railroad's  first  trains  disturbed 
the  valley,  the  traveler  was  free  to  contemplate  Nature's  undisturbed 
beauty,  and  it  must  have  been  with  a  jar  that  he  was  brought  back  to 
earth  by  the  demand  for  toll. 

The  turnpike  did  not  give  up  business  with  the  advent  of  the  railroad 
but  struggled  along  for  several  years,  although  doubtless  under  dis- 
couraging conditions.  When  its  Saybrook  tollhouse  was  burned  in 
April,  1874,  circumstances  did  not  warrant  its  being  rebuilt.  Tolls  were 
finally  discontinued  on  the  whole  road  on  March  29,  1876. 

For  sixteen  years  the  Saybrook  gate  was  tended  by  Robert  Rankin 
and  later  by  Henry  Safferry.  Tolls  collected  after  nine  at  night  were 
allowed  to  the  gatherer  for  his  own,  a  clever  device  of  the  company  to 
prevent  the  tollman  from  going  to  sleep  and  making  it  an  object  for  the 
public  to  postpone  its  traveling  until  after  his  bedtime. 


THE   NEW   PRESTON   TURNPIKE 

This  road  was  built  to  accommodate  the  emigrant  travel  which  was 
then  beginning  to  "  the  western  settlements,"  and  connected  the  New 
Milford  and  Litchfield  Turnpike  with  the  New  York  boundary  on  the 
way  to  Fishkill  and  Poughkeepsie.  The  New  Preston  Turnpike  Com- 
pany was  chartered  in  May,  1802,  and  evidently  built  its  road  soon 
after. 

Leaving  the  New  Milford  and  Litchfield  at  the  village  of  New  Pres- 
ton the  new  turnpike  ran  westerly  into  and  about  halfway  across  the 
town  of  New  Milford,  thence  northerly  into  the  town  of  Kent,  and  then 
westerly  again  through  the  village  of  South  Kent  to  the  Housatonic 
River  at  Bulls  Bridge  in  the  southwest  corner  of  Kent.  Thence  a  short 
run  brought  it  to  the  New  York  line. 

The  turnpike  enjoyed  nearly  a  half-century  of  existence,  the  charter 
being  repealed  in  1851.  For  over  a  year  previously  the  corporation 
had  neglected  and  refused  to  repair  its  road  and  had  taken  down  its 
gate.  The  necessary  repairs  had  therefore  been  made  by  the  towns 
traversed,  and  their  reasonable  request  to  own  the  road  which  they  had 
to  maintain  was  granted. 

[369] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   NEW   ENGLAND 


THE   NEW   HAVEN   AND   MILFORD   TURNPIKE 

Another  product  of  the  May  session  in  1802  was  the  New  Haven 
and  Milford  Turnpike  Company,  which  was  allowed  to  build  a  road 
from  the  courthouse  in  New  Haven  to  the  meeting-house  in  Milford. 
By  its  charter  the  company  might  take  the  old  road  or  make  such  altera- 
tions as  would  meet  the  approval  of  the  county  court.  The  road  as  it 
stretches  from  one  city  to  the  other  to-day  shows  plainly  that  the  corpo- 
ration availed  itself  fully  of  the  privilege  of  making  changes  in  the 
crooked  sections.  Lambert's  "  History  of  the  Colony  of  New  Haven  " 
testifies  to  that,  for  it  records  that  the  town  of  Milford  clashed  with 
the  new  enterprise  and  sought  to  make  it  keep  in  the  bounds  of  the  old 
road,  objecting  to  the  company's  "  running  the  turnpike-road  through 
peoples'  land." 

August  26,  1802,  the  New  Haven  county  court  approved  the  location 
desired  by  the  corporation,  each  variation  from  the  old  road  being 
described  by  metes  and  bounds,  and  referred  to  various  trees  and  houses 
designated  by  their  occupants'  names.  For  good  measure  the  court 
allowed  a  few  more  than  were  asked,  and  appointed  a  committee  to 
make  the  formal  layout  and  appraise  the  damages.1 

In  October,  1804,  the  assembly  designated  the  portion  of  the  turn- 
pike which  was  to  be  in  New  Haven  as  being  the  old  road  from  West 
River  Bridge  to  the  southerly  end  of  Church  Street  where  the  market 
then  stood.  This  had  previously  been  thrashed  out  in  the  county  court 
and  a  decision  rendered  there  to  the  same  effect. 

A  friendly  arrangement  between  New  Haven  and  the  turnpike  was 
made  in  1836  by  which  the  turnpike  west  of  the  hospital  was  exchanged 
for  a  city  street  on  the  east  side  of  that  institution. 

About  a  quarter  of  a  mile  near  the  hospital  was  given  up  in  1847, 
as  the  city  improvements  were  advancing  so  fast  as  to  require  refine- 
ments not  in  a  turnpike  corporation's  line  of  business. 

The  "  Milford  Pike  "  is  easily  detected  by  the  tourist  to-day,  as  it 
forms  a  most  direct  route  between  its  original  terminal  cities  and,  more- 
over, is  locally  known  by  that  name. 


THE   RIMMON   FALLS   TURNPIKE 

With  the  opening  of  the  Oxford,  Straits,  and  Derby  turnpikes  inter- 
course between  New  Haven  and  the  country  northwest  of  it  would  seem 
to  have  been  amply  provided  with  facilities.  But  the  route  over  the 
Oxford  and  the  Straits  was  roundabout  and  repugnant  to  turnpike  con- 
ceptions, while  there  was  quite  a  space  of  undeveloped  country  to  be 
passed  over  between  the  Oxford  and  the  Derby.     Efforts  by  certain 

1  "New  Haven  County  Records,"  Volume  13,  page  118. 
[370] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 

Derby  citizens  to  bridge  the  latter  difficulty,  by  forming  a  turnpike 
company  to  build  across  the  intervening  space,  were  defeated  by  some 
of  their  neighbors,  who  insisted  that  any  company  should  pay  for  its 
own  land  and  bridges.     Hence  a  deadlock  ensued. 

The  Rimmon  Falls  Turnpike  Company,  chartered  in  May,  1802, 
was  first  projected  in  1798,  apparently,  to  connect  with  the  Derby  at 
Derby  Landing,  but  after  years  of  strife  finally  located  its  road  straight 
across  country  from  Chusetown,  now  Seymour,  to  New  Haven,  leaving 
Derby  off  on  one  side. 

In  Sharpe's  "  History  of  Seymour  "  we  read  that  the  limits  of  the 
road  were  Thompson's  Bridge  in  New  Haven  and  the  Falls  Bridge  in 
Chusetown.  Pearl  and  Main  streets  in  Chusetown  were  straightened 
In  turnpike  development  so  as  to  lead  straight  to  the  bridge.  A  large  cut 
on  Hill  Street  below  Washington  Avenue  was  taken  out  by  diverting 
a  near-by  brook  and  sluicing  the  gravel  into  the  river. 

The  Falls  Bridge  was  found  to  be  insufficient  for  the  increased  travel 
which  would  follow  the  turnpike,  so  it  was  rebuilt  by  the  turnpike 
corporation.  Although  a  short  section  of  public  road  was  between  the 
corner  of  the  Oxford  Turnpike,  where  it  turned  away  from  Little  River 
to  go  to  Pines  Bridge,  and  the  Falls  Bridge,  the  proprietors  of  the 
Oxford  seem  to  have  realized  the  value  of  a  connection  with  the  new 
Rimmon  Falls  road  enough  to  cause  them  to  share  in  the  expense  of 
rebuilding  the  Falls  Bridge. 

The  Rimmon  Falls  Turnpike,  as  finally  located,  went  directly  south- 
west from  Chusetown  across  the  town  of  Woodbridge  to  Westville,  then 
called  Hotchkisstown,  where  it  entered  the  Straits  Turnpike  over  which 
its  travelers  continued  to  New  Haven. 

The  last  reference  to  this  road  which  has  been  found  is  an  act  passed 
in  1838  by  which  the  management  was  allowed  to  move  a  gate. 


THE   GOSHEN   AND   SHARON   TURNPIKE 

This  road  was  built  by  the  Goshen  and  Sharon  Turnpike  Company 
under  authority  of  a  franchise  granted  them  in  May,  1803,  to  build 
from  Goshen  meeting-house,  through  Sharon,  to  "  York  State  line." 
Although  the  charter  plainly  specifies  Goshen  meeting-house  as  the  east- 
erly limit  there  seems  little  doubt  but  what  the  road  was  actually  built 
and  maintained  as  a  turnpike  farther  east  to  Torrington,  where  it  united 
with  the  Waterbury  River  Turnpike.  Orcutt  speaks  of  it  in  his  "  His- 
tory of  Torrington,"  saying  that  it  was  "made  mostly"  in  1805  and 
that  the  town,  seeing  no  other  way,  voted  at  once  that  it  would  build 
and  maintain  four  bridges  if  the  corporation  would  release  it  from 
further  bridge  obligation. 

Gold's  "  History  of  Cornwall "  has  permanently  recorded  the  loca- 
tion of  the  road  in  that  town.    It  says  that  it  crossed  the  river  at  West 

[37i] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

Cornwall,  led  through  Cornwall  Center,  and  with  true  spirit  of  liberty, 
"  climbed  Bunker  Hill."  One  tollgate  was  at  the  bridge  in  West  Corn- 
wall and  another  stood  near  Tyler  Pond  in  Goshen. 

In  May,  1825,  the  portion  from  the  foot  of  Riley  Hill  in  Sharon 
to  the  New  York,  line  was  made  free,  and  the  same  procedure  was  had 
upon  all  west  of  Pine  Swamp  Road  in  Sharon,  while  whatever  was  left 
in  that  town  followed  suit  in  1846.  Ten  years  later  the  charter  was 
repealed  and  the  entire  Goshen  and  Sharon  Turnpike  passed  into 
history. 


THE   STAFFORD   MINERAL   SPRING  TURNPIKE 

The  Stafford  Pool  Turnpike  was  chartered  in  October,  1803,  to 
build  from  Tolland  courthouse  to  the  Massachusetts  line  through  Staf- 
ford, passing  by  the  mineral  spring  in  that  town.  In  18 14  its  name  was 
changed  to  Stafford  Mineral  Spring  Turnpike. 

By  the  construction  which  this  corporation  carried  out,  with  that 
later  done  in  Massachusetts  by  the  Worcester  and  Stafford  Turnpike 
Corporation,  a  through  route  from  Worcester  to  Hartford  was  opened, 
using  the  already  built  Hartford  and  Tolland  Turnpike  for  the  westerly 
section.  Reference  to  the  map  will  show  at  once  the  idea  back  of  these 
combined  roads.  The  "  northern  route  "  from  Boston  to  New  York 
passed  through  Worcester,  Springfield,  and  Hartford,  and  by  the  cut- 
ting of  a  route  through  Stafford  the  distance  was  much  reduced,  for 
almost  a  direct  line  from  Worcester  to  Hartford  was  thus  developed, 
although  leaving  away  off  on  one  side  the  growing  town  of  Springfield. 
That  long-extended  through-routes  traversing  unproductive  districts 
were  not  remunerative  was  well  demonstrated  by  the  experience  of  these 
roads  which  "  gave  up  the  ghost  "  at  the  time  when  other  turnpikes  were 
at  the  height  of  their  prosperity.  The  Massachusetts  road  ceased  its 
efforts  in  1835  and  the  Stafford  Mineral  Spring  Turnpike  was  aban- 
doned about  that  time  by  its  owners. 

In  1839,  upon  information  that  the  corporation  had  abandoned  its 
road  through  Tolland,  Ellington,  and  Stafford  as  far  as  the  Massachu- 
setts line,  and  that  the  corporate  organization  itself  had  not  been  kept 
up,  the  assembly  annulled  the  charter  and  the  road  became  a  public 
charge.  Part  of  it  was  not  even  of  local  use,  for  in  1853  that  between 
a  new  highway  and  Number  Nine  Schoolhouse  was  discontinued  as  a 
highway. 

THE   WASHINGTON   TURNPIKE 

This  ran  from  the 

centre  of  Woodbury  to  the  centre  of  Washington,  thence  across  the  New  Milford 
and  Litchfield  Turnpike,  to  meet  at  the  east  end  of  the  New  Preston  Turnpike 
Road. 

[372] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 

Built  by  the  Washington  Turnpike  Company,  which  was  incorporated 
in  October,  1803,  it  seems  to  have  been  one  of  those  useful  but  little 
known  facilities  which  served  its  own  community  for  many  years. 

The  charter  was  repealed  in  1843. 


THE   THOMPSON   TURNPIKE 

An  important  old  road  leading  from  Providence  to  the  northeast 
part  of  Connecticut  was  improved  in  1794  and  operated  as  the  West 
Glocester  Turnpike  for  ninety-four  years.  In  the  beginning  it  was  but 
a  section  of  a  rough  country  road  and  really  of  but  local  importance, 
but  with  the  continuation  of  turnpike  improvements  to  Providence  and 
the  prospects  of  business  from  farther  northwest  it  soon  assumed  con- 
siderable importance,  and  a  continuation  through  Connecticut  was  de- 
manded. So  the  Thompson  Turnpike  Company  was  created  in  October, 
1803,  with  a  franchise  to  build  "through  said  town  of  Thompson." 
The  gate  was  to  be  within  three  miles  of  the  Rhode  Island  line. 

Miss  Larned's  "  History  of  Windham  County  "  tells  of  the  opposi- 
tion of  unwilling  taxpayers  who  objected  to  being  saddled  with  the  cost 
of  land  for  the  benefit  of  private  investors.  But  their  opposition  only 
served  to  postpone  the  coming  of  the  improvement  for  a  few  years,  the 
road's  completion  quickly  following  the  granting  of  the  charter. 

The  new  road  intersected  the  Boston  Turnpike  on  Thompson  Hill, 
soon  transferred  business  and  population  to  the  hilltop,  and  caused  a 
flourishing  village  to  be  built. 

The  Thompson  Turnpike  became  the  main  thoroughfare  between 
Providence  and  Springfield,  and  it  was  not  long  before  daily  stages 
passed  over  it. 

In  1 8 14  a  gate  was  authorized  within  three- miles  of  the  Massachu- 
setts line.  As  the  Rhode  Island  connection  of  this  road  was  operated 
until  1888  there  would  seem  to  have  been  no  reason  why  the  Thompson 
Turnpike  should  not  have  been  a  paying  investment  for  that  long  also, 
but  we  have  not  learned  when  it  ceased  its  collections. 

It  is  to  be  noted  that  no  turnpike  in  Massachusetts  connected  with  the 
Thompson  at  the  state  line  and  that  the  entire  distance  to  Springfield  was 
completed  over  public  roads. 


THE   EAST   MIDDLE  AND  WEST   MIDDLE  TURNPIKES 

Communication  between  Hartford  and  Danbury  about  the  year  1802 
must  have  been  difficult  and  also  desirable,  for  strenuous  efforts  were 
then  made  to  secure  a  satisfactory  road,  a  committee  being  appointed 
by  the  general  assembly  to  lay  out  such  a  route  and  also  to  submit 
their  recommendations  as  to  the  advisability  of  establishing  the  same  as 
a  turnpike.     The  first  report  of  the  committee,  covering  the  section 

[373] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

from  Danbury  to  Newtown,  was  made  in  October,  when  the  com- 
mittee was  continued  and  instructed  to  continue  its  labors  to  Poland 
Bridge  in  Plymouth.  That  done  and  reported  in  May,  1803,  the  scheme 
was  still  unsatisfactory  and  the  patient  committee  was  further  required 
to  continue  its  labors  to  Farmington,  where  the  Farmington  and  Bristol 
Turnpike  would  be  met,  over  which  the  journey  to  Hartford  could  be 
finished. 

The  committee's  full  report,  containing  certain  alterations  in  the 
older  part  of  the  route,  was  accepted  in  October,  1803,  and  the  road 
declared  laid  out  as  a  public  highway,  with  the  proviso  that  the  part 
between  Poland  Bridge  and  Farmington  should  only  attain  that  status 
when  a  turnpike  corporation  had  been  formed  to  construct  it. 

The  Middle  Road  Turnpike  Company  was  formed  at  the  October 
session  of  1803  and  given  the  newly  created  public  road,  with  the 
obligation  to  build  the  section  from  Poland  Bridge  to  Danbury.  The 
influence  which  had  prevented  the  part  from  the  bridge  to  Farmington 
from  being  accepted  in  full  was  either  absent  or  met  defeat,  for  the 
towns  of  Bristol  and  Farmington  were  obliged  to  build  that  section  for 
the  corporation. 

The  turnpike,  as  recorded  in  the  secretary  of  state's  office,  com- 
menced on  the  Farmington  and  Bristol  Turnpike  in  the  Main  Street  in 
Farmington  and  went  nine  miles,  seventy-two  rods,  and  seven  links  to 
the  bridge  over  the  Poland  River  in  the  easterly  part  of  the  town  of 
Plymouth.  Thence  it  continued  generally  westerly,  passing  Plymouth 
meeting-house,  to  the  Waterbury  River  Turnpike,  which  it  followed 
for  a  distance  of  eighty  chains  or  one  mile.  It  then  crossed  the  towns 
of  Watertown,  Woodbury,  and  Southbury,  to  the  Main  Street  in  New- 
town after  which  it  continued  directly  to  Danbury.  The  road  was  com- 
monly known  as  the  Hartford  and  Danbury  Turnpike,  although  after 
1823  the  journey  between  those  places  took  one  over  the  roads  of  three 
distinct  corporations.  In  its  length  it  intersected  the  Middletown  and 
Berlin,  Waterbury  River,  Straits,  Pines  Bridge,  Washington,  Flousa- 
tonic,  and  Bridgeport  and  Newtown  turnpikes  which,  with  its  two  im- 
portant terminals,  doubtless  seemed  to  justify  the  building  of  forty-six 
miles  of  road. 

After  twenty  years  of  operation  in  May,  1823,  the  road  and  corpora- 
tion were  divided;  the  East  Middle  and  the  West  Middle  Turnpike 
companies  being  formed  and  given  respective  sections  of  the  old  Middle 
Road  Turnpike.  The  part  from  Danbury  to  a  point  ten  miles  east  of 
the  crossing  of  the  Housatonic  River  was  given  to  the  West  Middle 
Turnpike  Company,  the  Easf  Middle  taking  the  balance.  The  point 
of  division  was  about  where  the  Washington  Turnpike  crossed  the 
Middle  Road. 

The  East  Middle  secured  permission  to  make  changes  in  its  gates 
in  1834,  1840,  and  1844,  but  in  the  last  year  suffered  the  repeal  of  as 
much  of  its  charter  as  applied  to  the  towns  of  Woodbury  and  Water- 
[374] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 

town.     When  the  balance  through  Plymouth,  Bristol,  and  Farmington 
became  free  has  not  been  learned. 

All  franchise  rights  of  the  West  Middle  were  revoked  by  the  as- 
sembly at  its  May  session  in  1839. 


THE   COLCHESTER   AND   NORWICH   TURNPIKE 

The  turnpike  from  Bacon  Academy  in  Colchester  to  Fitch's  Iron- 
works in  Bozrah  was  built  by  the  Colchester  and  Norwich  Turnpike 
Company  under  a  franchise  granted  in  October,  1805,  two  years  having 
then  elapsed  since  such  a  charter  had  been  granted.  In  1807  the  corpo- 
ration was  allowed  to  extend  its  road  to  an  intersection  with  the  Leba- 
non Road  at  Backus'  Ironworks  in  Norwich. 

That  the  turnpike  was  in  operation  in  18 14  we  know  from  an  act 
which  provided  a  revision  in  the  rates  of  toll,  but  further  we  have  not 
been  able  to  learn. 

This  corporation  was  allowed  to  hold  fifty  acres  of  land  in  connec- 
tion with  its  tollhouse,  a  decidedly  liberal  allowance  as  compared  with 
the  privilege  of  the  Straits  Turnpike  Company,  which  had  to  ask  the 
assembly,  in  1806,  for  permission  to  erect  houses  at  its  gates  and  was 
then  only  allowed  five  acres  with  each  house. 

THE   CORNWALL   AND   WASHINGTON   TURNPIKE 

A  committee  reporting  to  the  assembly  in  October,  1803,  gave  a 
description  of  a  comprehensive  road  which  it  had  laid  out  from 
Nathaniel  Loury's  in  Canaan  to  Derby  Landing,  and  recommended  that 
it  should  be  built  as  a  turnpike  and  specified  where  the  gates  should  be 
located.  The  report  was  accepted  and  the  assembly  waited  for  a 
corporation  to  appear. 

Two  years  later  certain  parties  signified  that  if  they  could  be  in- 
corporated as  the  Cornwall  and  Washington  Turnpike  Company  they 
would  undertake  the  construction  of  a  part  of  the  route.  In  consequence 
the  corporation  was  formed  in  October,  1805,  to  build  from  Loury's 
to  the  Washington  Turnpike  in  the  northerly  part  of  Woodbury,  of 
which  privilege  it  did  not  take  advantage  for  several  years.  The  corpo- 
ration occupied  the  attention  of  the  assembly  in  May,  1806,  when  cer- 
tain alterations  in  the  route  were  permitted.  In  October,  1812,  it  again 
appeared  at  the  capitol.  Its  road  was  not  completed  and  the  manage- 
ment tried  to  blame  it  on  the  committee  in  spite  of  the  late  date.  All 
was  forgiven,  however,  and  it  was  enacted  that  the  company  might 
complete  the  road  and  do  business  when  it  had  done  so.  When  the 
collection  of  tolls  commenced  is  not  known. 

In  May,  1829,  all  of  the  turnpike  between  "  Lory's  "  gate  in  Canaan 
and  the  south  line  of  Cornwall  was  made  free,  and  in  1839  the  entire 
charter  was  revoked. 

[375] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 


THE   CONNECTICUT   TURNPIKE 
(The  Old  Boston  Post  Road) 

The  Old  Post  Road  from  Boston  to  New  York,  after  crossing  the 
Connecticut  River,  followed  as  close  to  the  shore  as  the  numerous 
indentations  would  allow  and,  west  of  New  Haven,  took,  a  fairly 
direct  course.  We  have  already  seen  that  the  portion  in  Greenwich  was 
made  a  turnpike  under  county  control  in  1792.  In  1798  an  act  was 
passed  under  authority  of  which  the  towns  of  Fairfield  and  Norwalk 
built  a  toll  bridge  across  the  Saugatuck  River,  which  was  in  use  before 
1800.  The  road  continued  with  only  those  improvements  until  May, 
1 806,  when  the  Connecticut  Turnpike  Company  was  formed  to  improve 
the  Old  Post  Road  from  the  house  of  Jonathan  Sturges  in  Fairfield  to 
the  Byram  River,  which  is  the  boundary  between  Connecticut  and  New 
York.  This  franchise  is  thus  seen  to  include  the  section  in  Greenwich 
which  then  passed  from  county  to  corporation  control. 

Four  gates  were  allowed  "  including  the  toll  at  Saugatuck  Bridge." 
The  other  gates  were  to  be  located  in  Greenwich;  in  Stamford,  at  least 
eighty  rods  west  of  the  Noroton  River;  and  in  Fairfield,  between  Mill 
River  and  the  old  road  from  Greenfield. 

"  Ye  Historie  of  ye  Town  of  Greenwich  "  by  Mead  is  our  authority 
for  saying»that  the  gate  in  Greenwich  was  located  just  west  of  Horse 
Neck  Brook  and  about  halfway  up  the  hill,  which  is  still  known  as  Toll- 
gate  Hill. 

Huntington's  "  History  of  Stamford  "  says  that  the  proposition  for 
this  turnpike  was  received  with  much  dissatisfaction  in  all  the  towns 
along  the  route  except  Stamford.  The  people  of  that  town  had  evi- 
dently little  knowledge  of  turnpike  methods  and  failed  to  realize  the 
dawn  of  the  day  of  "  soulless  corporations,"  for  they  welcomed  the 
improvement  until  they  saw  what  was  to  be  done  in  their  midst.  War 
broke  out  when  they  learned  that  the  commissioners  proposed  to 
straighten  the  road  even  to  the  extent  of  cutting  directly  through  the 
center  of  the  village  and  dividing  their  cemetery.  The  town  fought 
desperately  to  prevent  this  desecration  but  lost  on  the  final  appeal,  and 
construction  commenced.  Tradition  credits  the  corporation  with  proper 
care  in  opening  the  graves  and  handling  the  bodies,  but  Stamford  was 
not  appeased  by  that.  Following  the  first  day's  grading  operations  in 
the  cemetery,  large  numbers  of  citizens  with  many  yoke  of  oxen  gath- 
ered in  the  early  darkness  and  labored  all  night,  hauling  large  rocks 
into  the  opening  at  each  end  and  blocking  the  entrances.  But  what  man 
could  put  in,  man  could  take  away,  and  for  three  days  Stamford  piled 
rocks  in  by  night  and  the  corporation's  forces  removed  them  by  day, 
until  the  money  power  finally  prevailed.  Many  of  the  good  people  of 
the  town,  it  is  said,  were  so  wrought  up  by  the  invasion  of  their  sacred 
[376] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   CONNECTICUT 

precincts  that  they  never  afterwards  would  pass  over  that  portion  of 
the  road  which  is  now  Main  Street. 

The  Connecticut  Turnpike  continued  to  demand  its  tolls  until  1854, 
when  the  corporation  gave  it  up. 

The  continuation  of  the  Old  Post  Road  in  New  York  was  improved 
about  the  year  1800  by  the  Westchester  Turnpike  Company,  which 
collected  tolls  on  the  old  road  from  Sawpits,  now  Port  Chester,  nearly 
to  New  York  City. 

Stephen  Jenkins,  in  writing  of  the  Old  Boston  Post  Road,  gives 
some  interesting  data  on  the  road  of  the  present  day.  He  says  that 
in  leaving  Greenwich  for  Stamford  in  the  olden  days,  the  stagecoach 
would  have  taken  us  out  by  way  of  Dumpling  Pond,  but  the  trolley  car 
of  to-day  follows  a  more  direct  route,  as  the  various  inlets  of  the  Sound 
have  been  bridged  and  much  distance  saved.  The  entrance  into  Stam- 
ford was  the  same,  and  the  route  was  lined  with  beautiful  shade  trees, 
as  it  is  to-day.     Further  along  he  writes : 

"  Turnpike  "  seems  to  be  the  favorite  term  in  this  section  to  apply  to  the  Post 
Road  which,  after  leaving  Stamford,  passes  through  many  fine  estates.  At  Noroton 
is  the  Wee  Burn  Country  Club  with  its  famous  golf  course.  A  detour  of  half  a 
mile  at  this  point  takes  us  to  the  old  Gorham  Tide  Mill  near  the  shore.  The  old 
inhabitants  will  tell  you  of  the  time  when  this  was  a  busy  place,  with  stores,  taverns, 
mill,  and  post-office;  for  here  the  farmers  brought  their  grain  to  be  ground,  and 
their  produce  for  shipment  by  vessel  to  New  York. 

The  Connecticut  Soldiers'  Home  is  located  at  Noroton  but  sets  back 
from  the  old  turnpike.  The  final  soldiers'  home,  to  which  so  many  of 
the  veterans  have  retired,  Spring  Grove  Cemetery,  abuts  on  the  turnpike, 
and  many  of  the  trim  regular  stones  may  be  seen  in  passing. 

THE   CONNECTICUT   AND   RHODE   ISLAND   TURNPIKE 

The  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut  Turnpike  extended  from  a  point 
on  the  Providence  and  Norwich  Turnpike  at  the  westerly  line  of  Provi- 
dence to  the  state  line  at  a  point  about  half  a  mile  south  of  Killingly 
Pond  in  the  town  of  Killingly.  The  corporation  which  built  this  road 
was  formed  in  May,  1802,  and  carried  out  its  purposes  within  a  few 
years.  As  a  part  of  the  same  general  scheme  and  to  continue  the  route 
to  Hartford,  the  Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island  Turnpike  Company  was 
formed  in  Connecticut  in  May,  1806,  to  extend  the  Rhode  Island  road 
to  an  intersection  with  the  Boston  Turnpike,  over  which  access  to  Hart- 
ford could  be  had. 

The  Rhode  Island  Company  seems  to  have  had  some  difficulty  in 
prosecuting  its  work  and  only  succeeded  in  the  final  completion  when 
assurance  came  of  the  supplemental  work  to  be  done  in  Connecticut. 
In  fact,  it  may  fairly  be  surmised  that  a  reorganization  was  effected  in 
1806,  and  that  the  men  connected  with  the  Connecticut  enterprise  be- 
came interested  in  the  Rhode  Island  portion.  It  is  certain  that  joint 
ownership  prevailed  in  1816,  for  then  authority  was  secured  to  treat 

[377] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

the  two  corporations  as  one,  and  a  gate  on  Connecticut  soil  was  used 
to  collect  tolls  for  traveling  over  Rhode  Island  miles. 

Two  gates  were  allowed  in  the  original  Connecticut  allotment  and 
the  corporation  was  obliged  to  build  its  own  bridge  over  the  Quinebaug 
River.  In  1813  an  alteration  was  allowed,  which  apparently  had 
already  been  made,  as  confirmation  was  given  to  the  construction  across 
the  Natchaug  River  at  the  foot  of  Snow's  mill  pond  in  Ashford,  in  a 
part  of  the  town  which  became  Eastford  in  1847. 

Miss  Larned  tells  in  her  "History  of  Windham  County"  that  poor 
Pomfret  put  up  its  usual  fight  to  escape  being  saddled  with  heavy  ex- 
pense for  improvements  not  locally  needed,  and  failing  to  shut  out  the 
turnpike  sought  to  have  it  located  in  a  less  expensive  section.  So  heavy 
had  been  Pomfret's  expenses  in  fighting,  turnpikes  and  then  bearing 
costs  and  paying  damages,  that  it  had  been  seriously  proposed  to  convert 
the  new  town  house  into  cash  to  relieve  the  depleted  treasury.  What  a 
change  a  century  has  brought!  Now  Pomfret  is  the  summer  home  of 
millionaires  with  palatial  estates,  and  has  a  railroad  station  worth  many 
times  the  cost  of  that  town  house. 

Ashford,  on  the  other  hand,  regarded  all  turnpikes  as  harbingers  of 
prosperity  and  willingly  paid  for  the  expected  benefits. 

The  route  opened  by  the  two  corporations  just  considered  and  the 
Boston  Turnpike  became  at  once  an  important  channel  of  traffic,  and 
for  many  years  a  heavy  teaming  travel  passed  between  Hartford  and 
Providence,  with  daily  stages  interspersed. 

The  Rhode  Island  section  passed  into  public  control  in  1871  and 
1875,  but  the  Connecticut  road  was  assumed  by  the  towns  in  1851. 

THE   HARTLAND   TURNPIKE 

This  road  was  built  by  the  Hartland  Turnpike  Company  which  was 
formed  in  May,  1806.  The  franchise  covered  from  the  Greenwoods 
Turnpike  east  of  the  pond  in  Norfolk  to  the  Green  at  the  East  meeting- 
house in  Suffield. 

The  road  had  been  laid  out  by  a  committee  which  reported  to  the 
assembly  in  September,  1805,  and  from  the  report  it  appears  that  it 
passed  one  mile  north  of  Newgate  Prison,  that  notorious  underground 
mine  which  in  later  years  had  been  used  for  the  confinement  of  crimi- 
nals. The  towns  through  which  the  turnpike  was  built  were  Norfolk, 
Colebrook,  Barkhamsted,  Hartland,  Granby,  and  Suffield,  but  it  seems 
that  construction  was  slow,  as  in  May,  1809,  an  extension  of  time  to 
October  1,  18 10,  was  secured.  That  was  undoubtedly  sufficient,  for  in 
18 1 2  we  find  the  corporation  making  petition  for  a  change  of  gates. 
The  petition  was  continued,  and  a  year  later  was  taken  up,  when  the 
commissioners  on  that  road  were  instructed  to  investigate  and  report. 
Such  slow  action  must  have  been  too  much  for  the  company.  At  any 
rate  the  charter  was  revoked  in  October,  18 14. 
[378] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   CONNECTICUT 


THE  WARREN  TURNPIKE 

No  description  whatever  is  given  in  the  act  of  incorporation  of  the 
route  which  this  road  was  to  follow  and  only  by  certain  references  is  it 
seen  that  it  was  confined  to  Litchfield  County.  The  Warren  Turnpike 
Company  was  chartered  in  May,  1806.  An  act  passed  in  October, 
1809,  shows  that  the  northerly  terminus  was  at  what  is  now  Falls  Vil- 
lage in  Canaan,  where  a  large  hydroelectric  plant  has  recently  been 
installed,  and  Gold,  in  his  "  History  of  Cornwall,"  says  that  the  Warren 
Turnpike  is  still  an  important  public  road.  So  we  know  that  the  road 
ended  at  Falls  Village  and  that  it  passed  through  Cornwall.  It  seems 
probable  that  the  Warren  Turnpike  was  the  original  of  the  present  East 
River  Road,  along  the  east  bank  of  the  Housatonic  River,  from  Kent 
to  Falls  Village. 

By  the  act  of  1809,  above  mentioned,  an  extension  was  granted  from 
Falls  Village  to  the  Massachusetts  line,  where  connection  was  made  with 
a  branch  of  the  Twelfth  Massachusetts  Turnpike  which  had  been 
authorized  by  an  act  of  the  Massachusetts  legislature  in  1803. 

Gold's  history,  published  in  the  early  eighties,  speaks  of  this  road 
as  if  it  had  been  free  for  many  years. 


THE   NEW  LONDON  AND  LYME  TURNPIKE 

Another  section  of  the  Old  Post  Road  was  marked  for  improvement 
when  the  New  London  and  Lyme  Turnpike  Company  was  chartered  in 
May,  1807,  to  improve  that  road  between  New  London  and  Killing- 
worth  through  Waterford  and  Lyme.  The  improvement  in  Waterford 
consisted  in  making  a  new  road  which  extended  from  the  end  of  Bank 
Street,  across  Bream  Cove,  and  over  "  the  Neck,"  to  an  intersection 
with  the  old  road  in  the  westerly  part  of  the  town. 

A  bridge  over  Bream  Cove  was  first  established  in  171 2,  according 
to  a  contributor  to  the  New  London  Historical  Society,1  and  then  only 
foot  passengers  were  accommodated.  In  1766  a  pile  bridge  sufficient 
for  vehicles  replaced  the  earlier  structure,  and  in  1807,  under  turnpike 
incentive,  a  substantial  stone  construction,  since  known  as  Long  Bridge, 
was  erected.  That  was  built  by  the  new  corporation,  New  London 
contributing  five  hundred  dollars  and  the  materials  from  the  old  bridge 
toward  the  cost.  The  section  of  new  road  was  named  Shaw's  Avenue 
in  1 815. 

One  of  the  milestones  set  up  by  Benjamin  Franklin  along  the  post 
roads,  when  he  was  postmaster  general,  is  still  standing  on  this  old  turn- 
pike on  Dorr's  Hill  between  New  London  and  Lyme. 

The  westerly  terminus  of  the  turnpike  was  at  the  Connecticut  River 

1  "  Fact  and  Reminiscence,"  by  James  L.  Chew. 

[379] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   NEW    ENGLAND 

where  it  connected  with  the  old  Saybrook  Ferry,  which  had  been  in 
operation  since  1662,  and  over  which  the  stages  were  carried  to  Con- 
necticut River  Village  in  Old  Saybrook.  Thence  to  New  Haven  the 
journey  was  continued  over  public  roads,  for  no  turnpike  was  ever  pro- 
vided along  the  Sound  from  Saybrook  to  that  city. 

In  1849  aU  m  Lyme  south  and  west  of  the  main  street  was  made 
free,  and  in  1853  all  in  New  London  came  under  the  control  of  that 
city. 

Apparently  the  company  never  utilized  its  franchise  west  of  the 
Connecticut  River. 

In  1824  the  Connecticut  River  Steamboat  Company  commenced  the 
operation  of  a  line  of  steamers  from  Connecticut  River  ports  to  New 
York,  its  first  boat  being  named  Oliver  Ellsworth  after  Connecticut's 
distinguished  jurist.  The  next  year  marked  the  death  of  Commodore 
McDonough,  the  hero  of  Tripoli  and  of  Plattsburg  Bay,  and  the  second 
boat  bore  his  name. 

These  steamers  were  met  at  Calves  Island  Wharf  in  Lyme  by  stages 
which  took  passengers  to  New  London  over  the  New  London  and  Lyme 
Turnpike.  The  short  piece  of  road  by  which  access  was  had  to  Calves 
Island  from  the  turnpike  is  still  open  to  the  investigating  tourist. 

The  Connecticut  River  Steamboat  Company  continued  in  business 
until  1834,  at  which  time  many  other  steamers  were  running  up  and 
down  the  river. 


THE   WOODSTOCK  AND   THOMPSON   TURNPIKE 

This  road  was  built  by  the  Woodstock  and  Thompson  Turnpike 
Company  which  was  chartered  in  May,  1808,  and  it  ran  northeasterly 
from  the  Woodstock  meeting-house  to  the  line  of  the  town  of  Thompson 
and  then  easterly  to  Grosvenor  Dale,  where  it  met  the  Thompson  Turn- 
pike which  had  been  built  some  five  years  earlier. 

Miss  Larned  speaks  of  this  road  as  being  laid  out  on  turnpike  prin- 
ciples, straight  through  all  obstacles  including  the  "  granite  hill  range 
of  western  Thompson." 

The  turnpike  was  operated  for  several  years  but  was  finally  aban- 
doned by  its  owners,  and  in  May,  1832,  the  charter  was  repealed  in 
order  to  allow  the  towns  to  repair  and  maintain  the  road,  which  seemed 
to  be  a  public  necessity. 


THE    MIDDLETOWN   AND   BERLIN   TURNPIKE 

Travel  between  Middletown  and  Farmington  by  way  of  Berlin  and 
New  Britain  was  the  next  to  receive  attention,  the  Middletown  and 
Berlin  Turnpike   Company  being  chartered   in   May,    1808,  to  cover 
that  district. 
[380] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 

The  "  History  of  New  Britain,"  by  Camp,  states  that  this  road  was 
constructed  about  1810  and  passed  through  the1  west  part  of  that  town. 
As  New  Britain's  manufacturing  importance  had  not  then  developed 
it  is  not  surprising  that  the  road  passed  on  one  side  of  it. 

Alterations  were  made  in  the  location  in  1809  and  again  in  18 10, 
and  in  1841  a  gate  which  had  been  moved  without  the  required  formali- 
ties was  confirmed  in  its  new  position,  after  which  no  more  legislative 
acts  were  passed  on  this  road. 

THE   WOODSTOCK  AND   SOMERS   TURNPIKE 

The  prospects  of  the  Woodstock  and  Thompson  Turnpike  must  have 
seemed  rosy  during  the  first  six  months  of  its  corporate  life,  for  in 
October,  1808,  the  Woodstock  and  Somers  Turnpike  Company  was 
chartered  for  the  purpose  of  continuing  the  good  work  of  the  Wood- 
stock and  Thompson  as  far  as  the  village  of  Somers. 

The  road  had  previously  been  laid  out,  as  may  be  read  in  the  manu- 
script records  in  the  Hartford  capitol,  through  Woodstock,  Ashford, 
Stafford,  and  Somers,  a  distance  of  twenty-six  miles  and  59.25  chains. 
On  the  easterly  end  it  connected  with  the  Woodstock  and  Thompson 
Turnpike,  and  it  reached  180.62  chains  into  Somers,  which  brought  it 
to  Somers  Street,  as  the  center  was  called. 

Alterations  were  allowed  in  the  location  in  18 13  and  the  turnpike 
was  operated  for  several  years.  Conditions  in  the  northern  tier  of 
Connecticut  towns  must  have  been  radically  different  a  hundred  years 
ago  from  what  they  are  to-day  or  such  a  project  would  have  proved  a 
vain  dream.  Indeed  it  is  hard  to  see  how  the  corporation  managed  to 
pick  up  a  fraction  of  its  expenses,  and  very  likely  it  did  not. 

Like  the  Woodstock  and  Thompson  it  was  abandoned  by  its  owners 
and  for  several  years  was  neglected.  Finally  in  May,  1832,  the  as- 
sembly revoked  the  charter,  and  the  road  became  an  obligation  of  the 
various  towns  traversed  by  it. 

THE  COLCHESTER  AND  CHATHAM  TURNPIKE 

Throughout  the  turnpike  era  there  were  no  bridges  across  the  Con- 
necticut River  below  Hartford,  and  the  only  means  of  crossing  was  by 
ferries,  of  which  there  were  several,  and  naturally  any  turnpike  leading 
to  that  river  planned  to  make  one  of  the  ferries  its  terminal. 

A  ferry  was  established  between  Middletown  and  Portland  in  1726, 
and  thither  the  promoters  of  the  Colchester  and  Chatham  Turnpike 
projected  their  road.  This  company  was  formed  at  the  October  session 
of  1808  to  build  from  Colchester  to  Middletown.  The  Hebron  and 
Middle  Haddam  was  already  in  the  field,  but  it  is  hard  to  see  that  the 
two  propositions  conflicted  with  each  other.  Nevertheless,  sufficient 
opposition  was  put  up  by  that  company  to  compel  the  new  proprietors 

[381] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

to  enter  into  an  elaborate  agreement  as  to  division  of  tolls  in  the  region 
where  the  two  roads  were)  to  cross  each  other,  and  the  full  text  of  that 
agreement  was  inserted  in  the  act  of  incorporation  of  the  Colchester 
and  Chatham. 

The  report  of  the  laying-out  committee  of  this  road  is  interesting 
because  the  surveyor,  whenever  he  could  see  two  church  spires  at  once, 
read  a  compass  bearing  on  each.  Those  notes  would  be  of  great  as- 
sistance in  locating  the  road  if  we  could  be  sure  of  the  location  of  the 
various  churches. 

This  turnpike  commenced  in  Colchester  Center  and  ran  a  little  south 
of  westerly  to  the  head  of  Babcock  Pond,  thence  through  the  village  of 
Westminster  and  the  town  of  Chatham,  passing  close  to  the  present 
Cobalt  and  Middle  Haddam  Station  of  the  Air-Line  Division,  and 
across  the  town  of  Portland  to  the  Middletown  Ferry,  just  below  where 
the  railroad  now  crosses. 

THE   COLUMBIA  TURNPIKE 

Under  date  of  August  27,  1808,  a  committee  reported  to  the  as- 
sembly that  it  had  laid  out  a  road  from  a  point  on  the  Hartford  and 
Windham  Turnpike,  4.04  chains  southerly  from  the  south  end  of  a 
bridge  near  Clark  and  Gray's  paper  mill  to  the  meeting-house  in 
Hebron,  at  the  easterly  end  of  the  Hebron  and  Middle  Haddam  Turn- 
pike. The  report  was  accepted,  and  the  road  declared  established,  pro- 
vided a  corporation  was  formed  to  build  it.  But  the  investigation  had 
been  urged  in  good  faith,  for  the  men  with  capital  stood  ready  and  the 
Columbia  Turnpike  Company  was  formed  in  October  of  the  same 
year. 

The  bridge  mentioned  in  the  above-quoted  report  was  the  old  Iron- 
works Bridge  in  Willimantic,  and  the  paper  mill  of  Clark  and  Gray 
stood  about  where  the  Number  One  Mill  of  the  American  Thread  Com- 
pany's Willimantic  plant  now  stands.  The  Hartford  and  Windham 
Turnpike  will  not  be  found  in  our  list  of  companies,  as  that  was  a  name 
which  could  have  been  only  locally  applied.  The  road  from  which  the 
survey  started  was  that  of  the  Windham  Turnpike  Company  which, 
by  its  connection  with  the  Boston  Turnpike  in  North  Coventry,  led  to 
Hartford. 

By  its  turnpike  connections  on  either  end  the  road  of  the  Colum- 
bia Company  offered  a  direct  route  from  Providence  to  Middle  Haddam 
on  the  Connecticut  River,  and  it  is  easy  to  see  that  the  promoters  be- 
lieved that  they  were  opening  a  road  which  would  be  of  great  use  to 
long-distance  travelers.  The  river  was  reached  at  a  point  accessible  by 
boats  from  the  Sound,  and  it  was  not  a  wild  dream,  at  that  date,  to 
picture  a  heavy  commerce  transferring  at  Middle  Haddam  to  boats 
for  New  York.  But  there  is  no  evidence  that  such  dreams  were  ever 
realized. 
T382] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   CONNECTICUT 

Pleasant  Street,  which  lies  u  over  the  river  "  in  Willimantic  and  its 
continuation  as  Willimantic  Road  across  Columbia  to  Hebron,  is  the  old 
Columbia  Turnpike.  Willimantic  at  that  date  was  still  the  "  Old  State," 
*so  called  from  the  location  there  of  an  arsenal  during  the  Revolution, 
and  its  future  greatness  as  a  manufacturing  center  was  not  anticipated. 
So  the  Columbia  Turnpike  made  no  effort  to  cross  the  Willimantic 
River  but  continued  down  its  southerly  bank  to  the  intersection  with  the 
Windham  Turnpike,  which  it  might  have  joined  a  mile  farther  to  the 
west  with  a  great  saving  in  cost  and  distance.  But  "  Old  Windham  " 
was  then  the  county  seat  and  a  place  of  much  more  importance  than 
Willimantic,  so  the  turnpike  committee  proceeded  toward  it  as  directly 
as  they  could. 

State  highway  improvement  has  corrected  that  error  and  the 
modern  road  from  Columbia  to  Willimantic  branches  off  from  the  old 
turnpike  about  a  half  mile  east  of  Columbia  Green  and  crosses  over  to 
the  Hop  River  Turnpike.  Between  the  point  of  divergence  and  Willi- 
mantic the  old  road  is  but  a  woods  lane,  kept  open  only  on  account  of 
a  few  residents  along  its  borders. 

A  tollgate  stood  in  Willimantic  where  the  corner  of  Bridge  Street 
is  now  and  opposite  Burnham's  carriage  shop.  Mr.  Burnham  in 
his  seventy-ninth  year  could  just  remember  when  tolls  were  collected 
and  so  judged  that  the  road  became  free  about  the  year  1845.  When 
he  built  his  shop  he  removed  the  foundations  of  the  old  tollhouse  in 
preparing  the  site  for  the  new  building.  An  old  plan  found  in  the 
Windham  town  office  also  showed  the  location  of  the  tollgate,  as  above 
stated. 

THE  TOLLAND  COUNTY  TURNPIKE 

The  Tolland  County  Turnpike  Company  was  chartered  in  May, 
1809,  and  opened  its  road  in  about  a  year  from  that  date.  Its  route 
was  easterly  through  Ellington,  Tolland,  and  Willington  to  the  Boston 
Turnpike  in  Ashford,  and  Miss  Larned  says  that  it  met  the  latter  road 
two  miles  west  of  Ashford  Village. 

Business  was  poor  and  the  company  petitioned  for  extra  gates  in 
October,  18 10.  According  to  rule  the  petition  was  continued,  and  in 
the  next  May  was  practically  denied,  as  all  that  was  allowed  was  to 
change  one  of  the  gates  into  two  half-gates. 

The  company's  charter  was  revoked  in  May,  1834. 

THE  SHARON  AND  CORNWALL  TURNPIKE 

The  Sharon  and  Cornwall  Turnpike  Company,  formed  in  May, 
1809,  built  from  the  Warren  Turnpike  in  Cornwall  to  Swift's  Bridge 
and  thence  to  Amasa  Beebe's  in  Sharon.  A  subsequent  act  shows  that 
the  said  Beebe's  place  was  close  to  the  meeting-house  in  Sharon,  and 

[383] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

Swift's  Bridge  may  be  found  on  the  maps  of  to-day  across  the  Housa- 
tonic  River  near  the  southerly  boundaries  of  both  Cornwall  and  Sharon. 
This  was  another  of  the  useful  but  little  known  utilities,  and  appar- 
ently it  filled  an  important  niche  in  its  community,  for  it  continued  tor 
quietly  collect  its  tolls  for  thirty-six  years.  In  1845  all  or"  the  road  in 
Sharon  was  made  free  and  the  gate  was  moved  to  a  new  location,  prob- 
ably on  the  bridge.  There  could  not  have  been  any  length  of  road  in 
the  town  of  Cornwall,  so  it  is  probable  that  the  corporation  continued 
4ts  existence  for  a  while  longer  as  a  toll-bridge  company.  But  of  that 
we  have  found  no  data. 


THE   CHATHAM   AND   MARLBOROUGH  TURNPIKE 

In  early  September,  1809,  a  committee  of  the  assembly  was  en- 
gaged in  surveying  the  line  for  a  new  route  by  which  the  Connecticut 
River  could  be  reached  from  the  western  part  of  Windham  County. 
Its  report,  dated  September  16,  1809,  is  to  be  commended  for  the 
definite  location  of  the  terminal  points  of  the  survey.  The  beginning 
was  on  the  Hartford  and  New  London  Turnpike,  south  340  east,  1.60 
chains  from  the  thirteenth  milestone,  and  the  ending  was  at  Pistol- 
point  Bar,  where  a  line  drawn  south  8o°  west  from  the  north  end  of  the 
meeting-house  in  Middletown  Upper  Houses  intersected  the  easterly 
bank  of  the  Connecticut  River. 

In  October,  1809,  the  Chatham  and  Marlborough  Turnpike  Com- 
pany was  incorporated  to  open  the  road,  which  duty  it  performed  within 
the  next  two  and  a  half  years  at  least,  for  in  May,  18 12,  an  alteration  of 
the  westerly  three  miles  was  made. 

Of  the  further  history  of  this  road  nothing  has  been  learned. 

THE   MIDDLETOWN   AND   MERIDEN   TURNPIKE 

In  October,  1809,  the  Middletown  and  Meriden  Turnpike  Company 
was  formed  to  connect  those  towns,  and,  according  to  Curtis's  "  A  Cen- 
tury of  Meriden,"  the  road  was  built  the  same  year.  It  was  a  short 
road,  only  about  eight  miles  long,  so  it  is  possible  that  it  was  com- 
pleted in  the  few  months  remaining  in  that  year  after  incorporation. 

The  turnpike  passed  through  Middlefield  and  East  Meriden,  swing- 
ing in  a  big  bow  to  the  south  and  followed  the  street  now  used  by  the 
East  Meriden  trolley  cars. 

A  gate  was  moved,  with  proper  consent,  in  1841,  but  further  in- 
formation has  not  been  forthcoming.  But  that  shows  an  active  life  of 
over  thirty  years. 


[384] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   CONNECTICUT 


THE   EAST   HADDAM   AND   COLCHESTER  TURNPIKE 

The  road  running  southwesterly  from  Colchester  to  Goodspeed's 
Landing  in  East  Haddam  was  built  by  the  East  Haddam  and  Col- 
chester Turnpike  Company,  which  was  chartered  in  October,  1809. 
The  single  gate  allowed  was  located  in  East  Haddam  town. 

The  life  of  this  road  was  too  quiet  to  attract  the  notice  of  local 
historians  and  no  items  regarding  it  have  been  found.  It  was  in  opera- 
tion as  a  turnpike  as  late  as  1852,  for  in  that  year  a  change  of  gate 
was  allowed. 

The  Connecticut  River  terminus  of  this  road  was  determined  by 
the  presence  of  a  ferry,  or  opportunity  for  one,  at  East  Haddam. 
Provision  was  made  for  the  maintenance  of  means  of  crossing  at  that 
point  as  early  as  1664.  In  1741  a  new  grant  was  made,  and  a  ferry 
was  operated  intermittently  after  that  until  181 1,  when  a  ferry  charter 
was  secured  from  the  assembly,  presumably  by  the  turnpike  interests. 


THE   DURHAM   AND   EAST   GUILFORD   TURNPIKE 

This  road  was  commonly  and  more  properly  called  the  Durham  and 
Madison  Turnpike,  for  it  ran  to  Madison  and  not  to  Guilford  at  all. 
But  the  official  name  of  the  corporation  responsible  for  it  was  the 
Durham  and  East  Guilford  Turnpike  Company,  which  was  chartered 
in  May,  18 n.  One  of  the  provisions  in  the  charter  was  that  only  half 
tolls  should  be  charged  for  vehicles  having  rims  over  seven  inches  in 
width. 

The  capital  stock  of  the  company  was  ten  thousand  dollars,  accord- 
ing to  Steiner's  "  History  of  Guilford  and  Madison,"  which  gives  a  pro 
rata  of  about  seven  hundred  and  forty  dollars  a  mile.  This  accords 
with  costs  of  the  Massachusetts  roads  of  which  we  have  data. 

The  turnpike  started  at  Durham  Street  and  ran  through  the  center 
of  North  Madison  to  Madison  Green,  following  like  a  backbone  down 
the  center  line  of  the  long  narrow  town  of  Madison.  In  its  thirteen  and 
a  half  miles  it  was  allowed  one  gate,  which  was  changed  for  two  half- 
gates  by  the  assembly  of  1830. 

Thirty-four  years  did  this  turnpike  last,  the  surrender  of  its  charter 
being  accepted  in  1845.  The  corporation  was  allowed  six  months  longer 
in  which  to  close  its  affairs  and  sell  its  property. 


THE  SOUTHINGTON   AND   WATERBURY   TURNPIKE 

October,  18 12,  was  the  date  of  incorporation  of  the  Southington 
and  Waterbury  Turnpike  Company  which  built  the  road  from  Meriden 
to  Waterbury  between  the  years  18 12  and  1815. 

[385] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   NEW   ENGLAND 

To  follow  the  road  to-day  one  should  go  to  the  corner  of  Meriden 
Road  and  South  Main  Street  in  Waterbury,  then  follow  Meriden 
Road  along  the  southerly  boundary  of  Wolcott  and  through  the  south 
part  of  Southington,  then  over  Southington  Avenue,  along  the  trol- 
ley line  of  the  Meriden,  Southington,  and  Compounce  Tramway  Com- 
pany, to  the  corner  of  Blackwood  Road  in  Meriden.  One  tollgate  stood 
in  the  south  part  of  Wolcott,  according  to  Orcutt's  history  of  that  town. 
In  that  we  are  also  told  that  a  large  part  of  the  stock  in  this  corporation 
was  owned  by  the  Upson  family  of  Wolcott. 

The  franchise  of  this  company  also  contained  the  provision  that  only 
half  tolls  should  be  collected  when  the  tires  were  over  seven  inches  wide. 


THE   KILLINGWORTH   AND   HADDAM   TURNPIKE 

A  connection  with  the  Middlesex  Turnpike  at  Higganum  in  the  north 
corner  of  Haddam,  and  leading  thence  to  Killingworth  Center,  was  made 
by  the  Killingworth  and  Haddam  Turnpike  Company  under  a  charter 
issued  in  October,  1813.  In  October,  1815,  a  branch  road  was  author- 
ized to  connect  with  the  Middlesex  at  another  point.  A  change  of 
gates  has  been  noticed  in  1825. 

This  was  another  of  those  country  roads  which  seem  to  have  filled 
a  useful  niche  in  the  local  development  but  which  have  not  left  any 
indelible  records  for  history.  It  rounded  out  an  even  thirty-seven  years 
of  life,  the  charter  being  repealed  in  1850. 

Four  years  later  it  appeared  that  there  was  still  some  property  in 
real  estate  owned  by  the  defunct  corporation,  and  it  became  necessary 
for  the  assembly  to  appoint  an  agent,  giving  him  power  to  sell  such. 
The  proceeds,  after  satisfying  any  outstanding  indebtedness,  were  to 
be  divided  among  the  stockholders. 

The  branch  above  mentioned  was  locally  known  as  the  "  Beaver 
Brook  Turnpike  "  and  seems  to  have  extended  from  the  crossroads 
known  as  Duncan,  in  the  south  part  of  Haddam,  to  Haddam  Street  on 
the  river.  It  was  a  little  over  four  miles  in  length  and  the  main  road 
was  about  ten. 

THE    MIDDLETOWN   TURNPIKE      . 

The  Middletown,  Durham,  and  New  Haven  Turnpike  Company  was 
granted  a  franchise  in  October,  18 13,  for  a  road  from  Middletown  to 
New  Haven  through  Durham,  Northford,  and  North  Haven. 

In  New  Haven  an  old  road,  early  known  as  Negro  or  Neck  Lane, 
was  utilized  for  turnpike  purposes,  which  in  later  days  was  called 
Hancock  Avenue  and  is  now  the  State  Street  of  that  city.  In  Middle- 
town  the  modern  name  of  the  turnpike  is  Durham  Avenue,  and  as  the 
Durham  Pike  it  is  known  through  the  intervening  towns. 

This  road  does  not  seem  to  have  its  mark  in  history.  Watrous,  who 
[386] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 

has  noted  many  interesting  points  in  connection  with  other  roads,  found 
nothing  to  say  about  the  Middletown  Turnpike  except  that  it  was  char- 
tered in  i 8 13. 

That  it  was  in  operation  as  late  as  1846  is  proved  by  the  passage 
of  an  act  in  that  year  making  an  alteration  in  the  road. 


THE   LITCHFIELD   AND   CORNWALL   TURNPIKE 

Under  a  charter  issued  in  October,  18 14,  the  Litchfield  and  Corn- 
wall  Turnpike  Company  built  a  road  from  Litchfield  through  Goshen 
into  Cornwall,  where  it  probably  joined  the  road  of  the  Goshen  and 
Sharon  Turnpike  Company,  which  was  built  in  1803. 

This  road  was  not  much  of  a  history  maker,  but  undoubtedly  served 
its  rural  communities  for  many  years.  It  was  in  operation  in  1834,  for 
in  that  year  an  act  was  passed  by  which  a  change  of  gates  was  allowed. 
Gold's  "  History  of  Cornwall,"  which  had  something  to  say  about 
other  turnpikes,  is  silent  regarding  the  Litchfield  and  Cornwall. 


THE  HADDAM  AND  DURHAM  TURNPIKE 

The  Haddam  and  Durham  Turnpike  Company  was  incorporated 
in  May,  18 15,  and  built  its  road  from  Higganum,  in  the  northeast  part 
of  Haddam  on  the  Middlesex  Turnpike,  to  Durham  Street,  a  distance 
of  less  than  eight  miles. 

This  was  practically  a  branch  of  the  Middletown,  Durham,  and 
New  Haven  Turnpike  with  which  it  connected  at  Durham  Street.  That 
hamlet  must  have  presented  a  hustling  aspect  in  stage-coach  days,  with 
four  turnpikes  intersecting  there.  On  the  other  end  the  Haddam  and 
Durham  connected  with  the  Middlesex  Turnpike,  but  at  such  an  angle 
that  it  is  hard  to  see  how  either  derived  any  advantage  from  the  junc- 
tion. ^  The  Killingworth  and  Haddam  Turnpike  made  the  intersection 
at  Higganum  a  three-cornered  one. 

Higganum  owed  its  distinction  as  a  turnpike  terminal  to  the  Hig- 
ganum Ferry,  between  that  village  and  the  Middle  Haddam,  which  was 
established  in  1763. 


THE   STILL   RIVER   TURNPIKE 

In  May,  18 15,  the  Still  River  Turnpike  Company  was  formed  to 
open  a  road  from  the  Farmington  River  in  Colebrook  to  Wolcottsville, 
now  known  as  Torrington. 

This  is  a  busy  street  to-day,  being  the  main  street  in  both  Torring- 
ton and  Winsted,  while  over  the  section  between,  the  cars  of  the  Tor- 
rington and  Winchester  Street  Railway  pass  frequently.  North  from 
Winsted  the  road  skirted  the  easterly  edge  of  Colebrook,  crossing  the 

[387] 


THE   TURNPIKES   OF   NEW   ENGLAND 


Farmington  River  and  uniting  with  the  Farmington  River  Turnpike  in 
the  northeast  corner  of  that  town. 

By  that  connection  access  was  had  over  the  Tenth  Massachusetts 
Turnpike  to  Albany  by  way  of  Lee  and  Lenox,  while  on  the  south  a 
route,  as  direct  as  could  be  expected,  was  had  to  New  Haven  over  the 
Waterbury  River  Turnpike  and  the  Straits  or  Rimmon  Falls. 

By  all  indications  the  Still  River  should  have  been  an  important  and 
successful  road. 

Its  charter  was  repealed  in  1844  after  twenty-nine  years  of  corporate 
existence. 

Another  corporation,  the  Wolcottsville  Turnpike  Company,  was 
formed  in  May,  1826,  with  a  franchise  from  the  meeting-house  in 
Winsted  to  Wolcottsville  in  Torrington,  "  and  running  near  Still  River." 
Whether  the  Still  River  Company  had  failed  to  develop  this  lower  sec- 
tion of  its  franchise  and  the  second  company  was  organized  to  complete 
it,  or  the  second  effort  was  for  the  purposes  of  competition  with  an 
already  established  road,  we  are  unable  to  state.  Nothing  further  has 
been  found  regarding  the  Wolcottsville  Company. 

THE   CHESTER  AND   NORTH   KILLINGWORTH   TURNPIKE 

In  May,  18 16,  the  Chester  and  North  Killingworth  Turnpike  Com- 
pany was  formed  to  build  between  the  places  named.  Chester  and  the 
north  part  of  Killingworth  being  adjoining  towns,  the  road  was  but  a 
short  one  and  of  only  local  importance.  That  it  was  opened  and  oper- 
ated for  several  years  is  seen  from  two  acts  relating  to  it  which  were 
passed  in  1817  and  1827,  but  nothing  more  is  known  on  the  subject. 

By  the  construction  of  the  Hadlyme,  and  Chester  and  North  Killing- 
worth  Second  turnpikes,  which  were  chartered  in  1834,  an  effort  was 
made  to  make  this  road  a  part  of  a  through  route  from  Norwich  to 
New  Haven.  The  Chester  and  North  Killingworth  Second  extended  its 
parent  company's  road  on  the  east  to  the  Connecticut  River  and  on  the 
west  to  a  connection  with  the  Fairhaven  Turnpike.  The  Hadlyme 
Turnpike  started  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  Connecticut  River  and 
ran  to  the  Salem  and  Hamburg  Turnpike  in  Salem. 

Probably  the  whole  system  was  given  up  in  1846  and  1847,  when  the 
two  roads  just  described  were  made  free. 


THE   NEW   MILFORD   AND   SHERMAN   TURNPIKE 

This  adventure  was  disappointing  at  the  outset.  The  New  Milford 
and  Sherman  Turnpike  Company  was  formed  in  May,  1818,  when  the 
Philipstown  Turnpike  Company  of  New  York  was  busy  with  its  pre- 
liminaries. Connecting  with  that  road  the  Connecticut  corporation 
would  have  been  able  to  offer  a  route  to  Cold  Spring  Landing  on  the 
[388] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 

Hudson  River,  from  Hartford  by  way  of  Litchfield,  and  from  New 
Haven  over  the  Derby  and  Ousatonic  River  turnpikes.  But  the  Philips- 
town  Turnpike  was  an  air  castle,  according  to  the  petition  filed  by  the 
New  Milford  and  Sherman  Company  in  1837,  and  that  corporation 
faced  an  unprofitable  business  for  nineteen  years,  at  the  end  of  which 
time  its  bridge  over  the  Housatonic  River  was  carried  away  by  "  a  big 
ice  flood." 

The  company  had  expended  about  five  thousand  dollars  which  it 
considered  a  total  loss,  as  the  receipts  had  never  been  sufficient  to  keep 
the  road  in  repair,  and  now  that  it  was  called  upon  to  lay  out  some  fif- 
teen to  eighteen  hundred  dollars  more  to  rebuild  the  bridge,  the  stock- 
holders were  in  despair.  A  petition  was  therefore  made  asking  to  be 
relieved  from  responsibility  for  the  road,  offering  in  return  to  rebuild 
the  bridge. 

Consequently  an  act  was  passed  in  1837  by  which  the  New  Milford 
and  Sherman  Turnpike  Company  was  relieved  of  all  its  obligations 
"  except  the  bridge  place  across  the  Ousatonick  river  in  New  Milford 
at  the  place  commonly  called  Boardman's  bridge  and  the  approaches 
thereto."  The  company  was  allowed  until  January  i,  1839,  to  comply 
with  the  conditions. 

THE    PETTIPAUGE   AND   GUILFORD   TURNPIKE 

This  road  ran  from  Petti-paug,  on  the  Middle  Cove,  in  Essex,  east- 
erly and  northerly  along  the  Middlesex  Turnpike  and  then  to  Killing- 
worth  Center,  from  which  place  it  went  directly  to  the  stage  road  in  the 
southeasterly  corner  of  Guilford.  It  was  built  by  the  Pettipauge  and 
Guilford  Turnpike  Company  under  a  charter  granted  in  October,  18 18. 

The  length  of  the  road  is  stated  by  Steiner  to  have  been  sixteen  miles 
and  the  cost  $10,000,  or  $625  a  mile. 

In  May,  1839,  the  charter  was  repealed  and  the  towns  were  obliged 
to  assume  the  care  of  the  road.  Madison  offered  strenuous  objections 
but  was  compelled  to  submit. 

The  entire  road  was  ready  for  business  seven  months  after  the  fran- 
chise was  granted.  That  the  investment  was  not  a  good  one  is  seen  by 
the  frequent  acts  by  which  rates  of  toll  were  altered  and  gates  changed. 

THE   GROTON   AND   STONINGTON   TURNPIKE 

"  From  the  River  Thames  to  the  state  of  Rhode  Island,"  including 
from  Groton  Ferry  to  the  Head  of  Mystic,  was  the  next  franchise 
granted,  which  was  given  to  the  Groton  and  Stonington  Turnpike  Com- 
pany in  October,  181 8.  By  this  link  was  completed  the  turnpike  an- 
ticipation of  the  New  Haven  Road's  Shore  Line  from  Boston  to  the 
Connecticut  River,  for  this  road  continued  the  line  of  the  Providence 
and  Pawcatuck  and  the  Hopkinton  and  Richmond  turnpikes  in  Rhode 

[389] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF   NEW    ENGLAND 

Island,  the  three  making  a  continuous  turnpike  from  Providence  to  the 
shore  opposite  New  London. 

We  have  seen,  in  Rhode  Island,  the  efforts  put  forth  by  Westerly  to 
retain  for  itself  a  place  on  the  through  route  between  Providence  and 
New  York.  In  pursuance  of  that  desire  a  new  stage  road  was  built 
west  from  Westerly  for  the  purpose  of  drawing  that  form  of  travel,  and 
it  was  confidently  expected  that  the  new  turnpike  would  see  fit  to  absorb 
that  piece  of  new  road.  But  the  same  idea  prevailed  in  Connecticut  as 
elsewhere  and,  carrying  out  the  conception  of  a  turnpike,  the  route  was 
made  direct  without  regard  to  grades  or  important  centers  left  off  the 
line. 

Wheeler's  "  History  of  Stonington  "  tells  us  that  the  project  was  first 
broached  in  1816  by  the  stage  interests  which  appear  to  have  favored 
Westerly,  but  if  so,  the  control  must  have  changed  by  the  time  of  incor- 
poration. Stonington  did  not  oppose  the  turnpike  charter  but  did  object 
to  the  corporation  being  fettered  to  any  particular  route,  preferring  that 
the  location  should  be  left  to  the  judgment  of  the  men  responsible, 
and  that  request  prevailed,  we  can  imagine,  to  Stonington's  ultimate 
mortification. 

Starting  from  Groton  Ferry  the  new  road  followed  the  Old  Post 
Road  through  Groton,  with  several  improvements,  to  the  Head  of 
Mystic,  but  from  there  the  locating  surveyors  cut  loose  and  showed 
their  independence.  Instead  of  continuing  on  the  new  stage  road  to 
Westerly  they  took  an  old  country  road,  which  led  to  North  Stonington 
as  far  as  Wolf  Neck,  and  then  blazed  a  way  of  their  own  easterly  through 
Stonington  and  North  Stonington  to  the  line  of  Rhode  Island  in  the 
town  of  Hopkinton,  where  they  connected  with  the  southwesterly  end 
of  the  Hopkinton  and  Richmond  Turnpike,  which  was  undoubtedly 
surveyed  at  the  same  time. 

The  length  of  this  turnpike  was  about  seventeen  miles  and  it  cost, 
according  to  a  statement  made  by  the  corporation,  $12,000,  which  makes 
about  $710  a  mile.  Upon  completion  it  immediately  became  the  through 
stage  and  mail  route  between  New  London,  Providence,  and  Boston. 

An  interesting  light  upon  conditions  of  travel  from  Boston  to  New 
York  at  the  time  of  the  opening  of  this  road  is  thrown  by  the  following 
announcement  which  appeared  in  a  New  London  paper  in  November, 
1818: 

The  steamboat  "Fulton"  will  discontinue  running  after  December  5,  for  the 
present  season ;  the  stage  with  the  mail  on  the  New  London  route  from  Boston  will 
be  extended  to  New  Haven  during  the  winter  for  the  accommodation  of  such  pas- 
sengers as  wish  to  join  the  Connecticut,  Captain  Bunker,  at  that  place  on  their  way 
to  New  York. 

The  ferry  across  the  Thames  at  New  London  is  described  by  Miss 
Caulkins  as  "one  of  the  standing  embarassments  of  the  town."  From 
earliest  times  the  policy  of  the  town  had  been  to  lease  the  right  on  the 
best  terms  it  could  exact.  One  Robert  Bartlett,  dying  in  1673,  devised 
[39o] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 

property  to  the  town,  the  income  from  which  was  to  be  used  for  the 
support  of  a  free  school  for  the  children  of  New  London's  poor.  In 
consequence  of  neglect  by  the  authorities  the  property  seriously  depre- 
ciated, and  to  make  good  the  town  voted  from  1702  to  1875  that  the 
ferry  proceeds  should  be  applied  to  that  end.  Down  to  1821  the  propel- 
ling force  was  applied  by  means  of  sails  or  oars,  but  in  that  year  horses 
were  used.  Steam  power  was  tried  in  1835  Dut  was  found  too  expensive. 
Ten  years,  however,  showed  such  improvement  that  steam  was  per- 
manently installed,  and  in  1849  the  famous  steamer  Mohegan  was  put 
in  service.  Even  in  the  present  year  of  grace  the  traveler  desiring  to 
go  that  way  may  be  ferried  across  the  river  to  Groton. 

The  opening  of  the  New  York,  Providence,  and  Boston  Railroad, 
which  in  spite  of  its  pretentious  name  only  ran  from  New  London  to 
Providence,  occurred  in  1839  and  does  not  seem  to  have  troubled  the 
turnpike  business  a  great  deal,  but  when  the  Shore  Line  from  New 
Haven  to  New  London  was  completed  in  1852  and  rail  connection  made 
continuous  from  New  York  to  Boston,  the  deathblow  was  struck. 

In  the  next  year,  1853,  the  corporation  asked  to  be  dissolved,  stating 
that  "  in  consequence  of  the  entire  change  of  travel  by  the  facilities 
offered  by  steamboats  and  railroads  along  the  Sound  and  between  Con- 
necticut and  Rhode  Island  "  its  turnpike  had  become  "  unproductive." 
The  assembly  acquiesced  and  the  road  became  free. 


THE  ESSEX  TURNPIKE 

We  have  traced  the  New  London  and  Lyme  Turnpike  to  the  east 
bank  of  the  Connecticut,  and  we  have  seen  how  travelers  were  accom- 
modated on  their  western  continuation  of  that  journey  by  a  turnpike 
running  from  Petti-paug  in  Essex.  But  quite  a  gap  was  left  between 
those  roads,  and  the  ferry  across  the  mouth  of  the  large  river  must  have 
had  serious  disadvantages.  Now  comes  a  turnpike  to  make  a  short  con- 
nection from  the  New  London  and  Lyme  and  the  Pettipauge  and 
Guilford. 

The  Essex  Turnpike  Company  was  enacted  into  life  in  May,  1822, 
for  that  purpose,  provided  that  it  should  maintain  a  ferry  over  the  Con- 
necticut River  at  the  North  Cove  in  Essex.  Its  road  was  to  run  through 
Essex  and  Lyme. 

This  turnpike  appears  to  have  been  the  road  running  from  Ely's 
Wharf  Ferry,  southeasterly  to  the  New  London  and  Lyme  Turnpike  at 
the  foot  of  Rogers  Lake  in  the  north  part  of  Old  Lyme.  On  the  other 
side  of  the  Connecticut  it  had  a  short  section  from  the  ferry  to  Petti- 
paug  with  a  drawbridge  over  the  mouth  of  North  Cove. 

In  1825  the  assembly  made  free  all  of  the  road  east  of  its  crossing 
with  the  Salem  and  Hamburg  Turnpike.  Apparently  what  was  left  of 
the  Essex,  with  the  Salem  and  Hamburg,  and  another  road  from  Salem 

[391] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   NEW    ENGLAND 

to  Norwich,  were  later  consolidated  and  known  by  various  names,  such 
as  Essex,  Salem,  Salem  and  Norwich,  and  Norwich  and  Essex. 

Under  this  combination  the  Essex  later  got  into  trouble  with  the 
maritime  interests,  for  it  appears  that,  in  1853,  its  draw  in  the  bridge 
over  North  Cove  was  too  narrow  for  the  demands  upon  it.  The  as- 
sembly of  that  year  ordered  the  company  to  make  the  draw  wide  enough 
for  any  vessel,  equip  it  for  easy  operation,  and  put  in  charge  some  per- 
son living  within  half  a  mile  of  the  bridge. 

This  road  is  said  to  have  been  relinquished  about  i860. 

The  steamers  Oliver  Ellsworth  and  McDonough,  which  have  been 
noticed  in  connection  with  the  New  London  and  Lyme  Turnpike,  made 
regular  stops  at  the  wharf  at  Ely's  Ferry,  where  passengers  for  Nor- 
wich transferred  to  the  waiting  stages  and  were  rushed  over  the  Essex, 
Salem  and  Hamburg,  and  Norwich  and  Salem  turnpikes  to  the  city  at  the 
head  of  the  Thames. 


THE   SALEM   AND   HAMBURG  TURNPIKE 

The  Salem  and  Hamburg  Turnpike  Company  was  formed  in  May, 
1824,  with  a  franchise  very  indefinitely  worded,  so  that  it  is  difficult  to 
determine  from  it  just  what  route  was  intended.  But  from  its  later 
consolidation  with  roads  on  either  end  of  it,  it  seems  clear  that  the 
Salem  and  Hamburg  started  from  Salem  Center,  ran  through  North 
Lyme  and  Hamburg,  and  joined  the  Essex  Turnpike  a  very  short  dis- 
tance east  of  the  ferry  of  that  road.  As  stated  in  connection  with  the 
Essex  this  road  became  a  part  of  a  through  route  from  Norwich  to 
Essex,  which  seems  to  have  been  regarded  at  the  time  as  one  road,  al- 
though we  have  no  evidence  that  a  consolidation  of  corporations  was 
really  made.  Probably  not,  as  such  a  proceeding  would  have  called  for 
elaborate  legislative  action. 

It  is  said  that  Andrew  Jackson,  on  his  presidential  tour,  passed  over 
this  turnpike  on  his  way  to  Norwich. 

It  has  been  noted  in  connection  with  the  whole  road  from  Norwich 
to  Essex  that  it  was  discontinued  about  i860,  so  we  will  take  a  chance 
on  that  date  being  the  one  for  the  end  of  the  Salem  and  Hamburg 
Turnpike. 

THE   PINES   BRIDGE   TURNPIKE 

Another  of  the  radial  feeders  for  New  Haven  was  projected  by  the 
Pines  Bridge  Turnpike  Company,  chartered  in  May,  1824,  to  build 
from  the  northeast  part  of  Woodbury  to  the  west  abutment  of  Pines 
Bridge  in  the  east  part  of  Oxford,  in  which  length  of  road  of  about  thir- 
teen miles  one  gate  was  allowed. 

Starting  from  Pines  Bridge  the  road  followed  a  northwesterly  course 
into  the  town  of  Woodbury,  after  which  it  turned  northerly,  skirting  the 

[392] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 

cast  side  of  Quassapaug  Lake  and  running  on  the  boundary  between  the 
towns  of  Watertown  and  Woodbury.  Then  it  turned  into  Woodbury, 
ending  in  the  northeast  quarter  of  that  town. 

Twelve  years  was  long  enough  to  try  the  experiment  in  the  town  of 
Oxford  and  in  May,  1836,  the  assembly  allowed  all  in  that  town  to 
be  turned  over  to  the  public.  In  1841  the  charter  was  repealed  and 
that  marked  the  end  of  the  whole  turnpike. 


THE   GUILFORD   AND   DURHAM   TURNPIKE 

For  the  purpose  of  building  a  road  "  from  Durham  to  the  public 
square  in  Guilford  and  thence  to  Sachem's  Head  Harbor  in  said  Guil- 
ford," the  Guilford  and  Durham  Turnpike  Company  was  chartered  in 
May,  1824,  filing  a  bond  for  ten  thousand  dollars  to  carry  out  its 
plans  before  November  1,  1828. 

Steiner  knew  of  this  road  when  he  wrote  his  "  History  of  Guilford 
and  Madison,"  for  he  says  that  it  followed  the  West,  or  Menunkatuck, 
River  to  Lake  Quonepaug  and  then  ran  along  another  West  River  to 
Durham  Street  where  it  connected  with  the  road  of  the  Middletown, 
Durham,  and  New  Haven  Turnpike  Company.  In  the  borough,  above 
Guilford  Green,  the  road  is  now  known  as  Church  Street. 

At  an  1 83 1  town  meeting  Guilford  voted  to  bear  the  expense  of 
repairing  the  road,  if  its  inhabitants  might  use  the  same  toll  free,  but 
it  does  not  appear  that  the  offer  was  accepted,  for  it  would  have  meant 
practically  the  giving  up  of  the  whole  road. 

The  turnpike  management  was  still  in  control  in  1855,  for  then  a 
revision  of  tolls  was  enacted  by  the  assembly. 


THE'  FAIRHAVEN   TURNPIKE 

From  Killingworth  to  Dragon  Bridge  was  the  next  section  to  receive 
attention  and  the  Fairhaven  Turnpike  Company  was  incorporated  in 
May,  1824,  to  provide  a  turnpike  over  such  a  route. 

Steiner  again  helps  us  out,  for  he  has  noticed  that  this  road  branched 
from  the  Pettipauge  and  Guilford  Turnpike  in  the  center  of  Killing- 
worth  and  ran  by  the  North  Madison  meeting-house,  through  North 
Guilford,  North  Branford,  and  the  northerly  section  of  the  town  of  East 
Haven  to  Fairhaven  Village.  It  was  nineteen  and  a  quarter  miles  long 
and  cost  $7500,  making  a  pro  rata  of  about?  $390.  a  mile,  a  very  low 
figure.  Clearly  this  company  did  nothing  beyond  the  repairing  of  an 
old  road. 

A  portion  of  the  turnpike  was  surrendered  to  the  towns  in  which  it 
lay  in  April,  1843,  but  some  of  it  was  in  operation  in  1846,  when  con- 
firmation was  given  to  the  location  of  a  gate  which  had  been  moved. 


[393] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF   NEW    ENGLAND 


THE   PROVIDENCE   TURNPIKE 

When  the  Foster  and  Scituate  Turnpike  was  projected  in  Rhode 
Island  in  1811,  it  plainly  was  the  intention  to  open  a  road  into  Con- 
necticut as  far  as  Danielson.  That  road  was  chartered  in  18 13,  but 
the  part  in  Connecticut  was  a  long  time  coming. 

In  May,  1825,  the  Providence  Turnpike  Company  was  incorpo- 
rated in  Connecticut  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  the  Foster  and  Scituate 
to  realize  its  ambition.  The  franchise  covered  "  from  the  Foster  and 
Scituate  Turnpike  at  the  Rhode  Island  line  to  Danielson  in  Killingly." 
The  road  as  built  ran  southeasterly  from  Danielson  about  one  and  a 
half  miles,  then  easterly  through  South  Killingly  to  the  state  line  and 
the  Foster  and  Scituate. 

It  seems  improbable  that  this  corporation  was  formed  or  financed 
by  any  other  interests  than  those  in  control  of  the  Rhode  Island  con- 
necting road.  The  length  in  Connecticut  was  only  a  little  over  five  miles, 
which  of  course  only  allowed  one  gate,  but  that  was  stipulated  as  not 
"  to  be  in  addition  to  the  last  one  in  Rhode  Island."  In  other  words, 
if  the  Rhode  Island  gate  was  within  the  usual  gate  interval  from  Daniel- 
son, no  gate  could  be  erected  in  Connecticut.  Unless  the  same  interests 
benefited  by  the  collections  in  each  state  such  an  arrangement  would 
not  have  been  equitable. 

The  Rhode  Island  road  became  free  in  1866  and,  as  the  Providence 
Turnpike  seems  to  have  been  a  part  and  parcel  of  the  same  scheme,  we 
will  assign  the  same  year  for  its  demise. 


THE   SANDY   BROOK  TURNPIKE 

A  cross  turnpike  leading  from  the  Waterbury  River  Turnpike  in  the 
northwesterly  part  of  Colebrook,  across  the  Still  River  Turnpike  to  the 
Farmington  River  Turnpike  in  Barkhamsted,  was  built  by  the  Sandy 
Brook  Turnpike  Company  under  a  charter  granted  in  May,  1825.  The 
layout  of  the  road  had  been  made  by  the  towns,  but  the  assembly  saw 
fit  to  make  the  road  a  private  one  and  gave  it  to  the  turnpike  company. 

The  road  made  a  short  jump  from  the  Waterbury  River  Road  to  the 
upper  valley  of  Sandy  Brook  and  then  followed  the  course  of  that  small 
stream  until  it  came  to  the  Still  River  Turnpike,  which  it  crossed,  and 
continued  southeasterly  for  a  short  distance  to  its  junction  with  the 
Farmington  River. 

This  corporation  never  bothered  the  assembly  after  its  incorpora- 
tion, an  unusual  record. 


t394] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 


THE    HUMPHREYSVILLE  AND   SALEM   TURNPIKE 

We  have  previously  seen  how  the  residents  of  Derby  Landing  were 
dissatisfied  with  the  turnpike  connection  whereby  the  Oxford  turned  to 
the  north  and  connected  with  the  Straits,  going  thence  to  New  Haven  by 
a  route  remote  from  Derby;  and  how  efforts  were  made  to  have  a  turn- 
pike come  down  the  Naugatuck  River,  connecting  the  Oxford  with 
Derby  Landing,  after  which  the  journey  to  New  Haven  would  be  made 
over  the  Derby  Turnpike;  and  of  the  building  of  the  Rimmon  Falls 
Turnpike  which  did  not  go  north  of  the  Falls  Bridge  in  Chusetown. 

Now  comes  a  corporation  which  desires  to  fill  the  gap  left  in  the  river 
valley  when  the  Rimmon  Falls  was  laid  out,  without  connecting  with 
the  Oxford.  So  the  Humphreysville  and  Salem  Turnpike  Company 
was  formed  in  May,  1825,  with  a  franchise  to  build  "on  both  sides  of 
the  Naugatuck  River  from  said  Salem  Bridge  to  said  Falls  Bridge." 

Salem,  as  has  already  been  mentioned,  had  no  reference  to  the  town 
of  Salem,  which  is  in  the  easterly  part  of  the  state  adjacent  to  Norwich, 
but  referred  to  Salem  Society,  the  ancient  name  of  Naugatuck  prior  to 
its  separation  from  Waterbury,  and  Salem  Bridge  was  the  Main  Street 
Bridge  of  Naugatuck.  The  Falls  Bridge  was  at  the  old  village  of 
Chusetown,  now  Seymour.  It  does  not  appear  that  the  corporation 
exercised  its  power  to  build  on  both  sides  of  the  river  but  that  it  kept 
wholly  on  the  east  side. 

In  that  appears  an  apparent  discrepancy,  for  we  have  already  ob- 
served that  the  Oxford  Turnpike  built  up  the  east  side  of  the  river 
almost  to  Beacon  Brook,  and  now  that  section  seems  to  be  given  to  the 
new  turnpike.  We  will  not  attempt  to  explain  this  but  will  state  that 
it  was  quite  common  for  a  corporation  to  be  given  a  franchise  allowing 
it  to  run  for  certain  distances  along  the  road  of  another  company. 
Sometimes  a  division  of  tolls  was  prescribed,  and  in  one  case  an  elabo- 
rate agreement,  which  had  been  made  in  advance,  was  incorporated 
into  the  charter.  But  nothing  of  that  sort  appears  in  this  case  and  we 
are  left  in  doubt  as  to  what  really  occurred.  At  any  rate  the  Hum- 
phreysville and  Salem  had  a  clear  field  along  the  east  river  bank  after 
entering  the  town  of  Naugatuck,  as  now  divided,  and  we  learn  from 
Anderson's  "  History  of  Waterbury  "  that  some  heroic  work  was  done 
there,  for  the  road  was  "  cut  into  the  foundations  of  the  hills  along  the 
east  side  of  the  river." 

Sharpe's  "  History  of  Seymour  "  tells  us  that  the  company  did  not 
get  down  to  work  until  1832,  and  the  assembly  records  show  that  the 
charter  for  the  road  was  repealed  in  1856. 


[395] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   NEW   ENGLAND 


THE   CENTER   TURNPIKE 

In  June,  1824,  the  Central  Turnpike  Corporation  was  formed  in 
Massachusetts  to  build  from  the  Worcester  Turnpike  in  Needham  to 
the  Connecticut  line  in  Dudley,  and  in  May,  1826,  the  Center  Turnpike 
Company  was  chartered  in  Connecticut  to  continue  the  work  as  far  as 
Tolland  courthouse.  The  Worcester  Turnpike,  leading  out  from  Bos- 
ton, had  long  been  built  and  a  turnpike  from  Tolland  to  Hartford  had 
been  in  operation  for  a  quarter  of  a  century,  so  it  is  seen  that  by  the 
opening  of  the  Central  and  the  Center  a  new  route  from  Boston  to 
Hartford  was  provided.  What  need  could  have  been  imagined  or  what 
encouragement  found  to  build  another  route  is  hard  to  conceive.  Turn- 
pikes by  this  time  were  known  to  all  to  be  very  poor  investments,  and 
connection  between  the  two  important  New  England  centers  was  amply 
provided.  But  sufficient  faith  or  credulity  was  found  and  the  roads 
were  built.  Immediately  a  new  line  of  stages  appeared,  and  residents 
along  the  Center  had  the  daily  pleasure  of  watching  for  the  passage  of 
the  "  Boston  and  Hartford  Telegraph  "  coaches. 

The  Massachusetts  road  was  completed  and  opened  for  travel  in 
the  early  part  of  1830,  and  in  1836  the  corporation  gave  it  up  and  had 
its  road  made  free.  The  Connecticut  company  however  held  on  until 
1853,  when  its  charter  was  repealed  and  the  corporation  dissolved. 

The  Connecticut  road  is  known  to-day  as  the  old  Hartford  and  Bos- 
ton Turnpike  and  may  be  easily  followed.  Entering  the  state  in  the 
northwest  corner  of  Thompson  at  Quinebaug  post-office,  it  runs  across 
Woodstock,  skirting  the  northerly  slopes  of  Child,  Pigeon,  and  Tommy 
Lyon  hills,  the  southerly  edge  of  Winthrop  Swamp,  and  the  north  shore 
of  Black  Pond,  and  passes  over  the  corner  of  Union,  Woodstock,  and 
Eastford.  Thence  it  passes  through  North  Ashford  and  Westford, 
northerly  of  Sharpe's  Hill  and  into  Willington,  crossing  that  town  by 
northwesterly  and  southwesterly  courses,  and  passing  over  the  Willi- 
mantic  River  about  a  mile  up-stream  from  Tolland  Station  on  the  Cen- 
tral Vermont  Railroad. 

The  road  is  crooked,  like  any  ordinary  country  highway,  and  it  is 
hard  to  reconcile  it  with  the  idea  of  a  turnpike. 


THE   NORTHFIELD   TURNPIKE 

The  Northfield  Turnpike  Company  was  chartered  in  May,  1826, 
with  the  right  to  build  from  a  point  in  Redding  near  a  gristmill,  south- 
erly near  the  Saugatuck  River,  through  Redding  into  Weston  as  far  as 
the  "  second  cross  road  from  the  front,  so  called."  It  was  a  short  road 
as  is  seen  from  the  allowance  of  but  one  gate,  or  two  with  half  rates 
of  toll. 

That  the  road  was  completed  is  shown  by  the  act  passed  in  May, 

T396] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 

1828,  which  recited  that  the  turnpike  had  been  built  and  corrected  an 
error  in  the  record  of  the  layout.  It  is  also  referred  to  in  1841,  in  an 
act  in  connection  with  the  Newtown  and  Norwalk  Turnpike,  and  in 
1 85 1  in  the  charter  for  the  Danbury,  Redding,  Weston,  and  Westport 
Plank  Road. 

Except  for  the  facts  mentioned  above  no  information  has  been  found. 
The  road  evidently  came  down  the  valley  of  the  Saugatuck  into  the 
present  town  of  Weston. 

THE   WINDHAM   AND   BROOKLYN   TURNPIKE 

This  road  extended  from  the  courthouse  in  Brooklyn  to  an  inter- 
section with  the  Windham  Turnpike  in  Windham  about  a  mile  east 
of  Windham  Green  and  near  the  scene  of  the  famous  Windham  Frog 
Fight.  It  was  built  by  the  Windham  and  Brooklyn  Turnpike  Company 
under  a  charter  granted  at  the  May  session  of  1826,  and  was  probably 
completed  during  the  following  summer.  It  is  now  the  direct  road  from 
Brooklyn  through  Howard  Valley  and  the  northerly  part  of  Scotland 
to  Windham  Green,  or  Old  Windham. 

The  corporation  endeavored  to  make  money  for  nineteen  years, 
moving  its  gates  and  altering  its  location  in  the  effort,  evidently  with 
some  success  for,  in  1845,  lt  was  willing  to  take  over  the  road  from 
Brooklyn  to  the  bridge  over  the  Quinebaug  at  Danielson,  and  bear  one 
half  the  expense  of  the  bridge.  Probably  the  bridge  had  been  recently 
washed  away  and  the  town  was  willing  to  make  such  a  trade  to  secure 
a  new  one.  On  this  new  road  the  company  was  allowed  to  erect  a 
gate  with  half  tolls. 

A  gate  at  one  time  stood  in  Scotland  where  a  cellar  hole  in  the  bushes 
now  marks  the  site  of  the  tollhouse.  The  corporation  owned  an  acre 
and  a  quarter  of  land  there  and  subsequent  sales  of  the  surrounding 
land  have  had  to  take  notice  of  the  adverse  ownership. 

By  extending  to  Danielson,  the  Windham  and  Brooklyn  made  a 
connection  with  the  Providence  Turnpike,  and  can  easily  be  seen  to  have 
thus  opened  a  through  and  improved  route  from  Providence  to  Hart- 
ford. But  how,  in  1845,  with  railroads  already  well  demonstrated  and 
plenty  of  the  old-time  turnpikes  filling  the  need,  could  anyone  have  seen 
merit  in  opening  such  a  through  route? 

THE    MONROE   AND   ZOAR   BRIDGE   TURNPIKE 

Two  corporations  were  formed  at  the  May  session  of  1826  for  the 
purpose  of  opening  turnpike  connection  from  Bridgeport  to  Zoar  Bridge 
over  the  Housatonic  River  between  the  towns  of  Monroe  and  Oxford. 
One  of  these  was  the  Zoar  Bridge  Turnpike  Company,  which  aspired 
to  build  an  independent  line  all  the  way  to  tidewater  at  Bridgeport,  not- 
withstanding the  fact  that  the  Bridgeport  and  Newtown  Turnpike,  then 

[397] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

in  operation,  would  be  practically  paralleled  for  several  miles.  The 
second  was  the  Monroe  and  Zoar  Bridge  Turnpike  Company  which  had 
a  much  more  sensible  proposition  to  build  from  the  bridge  to  the  nearest 
point  on  the  existing  Bridgeport  and  Newtown  Turnpike. 

It  is  hard  to  understand  how  the  assembly  could  have  seen  it  con- 
sistent with  the  public  good  to  thus  charter  a  company  to  parallel  an 
existing  road,  compelling  it  to  divide  a  revenue  which  probably  was  none 
too  much  anyway,  or  how  it  could  have  deemed  it  advisable  to  charter 
two  companies  to  cover  the  same  ground  and  leave  them  to  fight  for 
possession.  The  routes  were  identical  from  the  bridge  to  Monroe 
Center.  But  protection  of  invested  capital  in  public  utilities  was  then 
far  from  realization  and  many  other  cases  of  parallel  franchises  have 
been  observed  in  turnpike  charters. 

Apparently  the  Monroe  and  Zoar  Bridge  Company  was  the  only  one 
to  carry  out  the  intention,  and  that  company  did  build  its  road  on  a 
southwesterly  course  from  Zoar  Bridge  to  a  point  on  the  Bridgeport  and 
Newtown  in  the  town  of  Trumbull  about  halfway  between  Stepney 
Depot  and  Long  Hill  stations  on  the  Bridgeport  Branch  of  the  New 
Haven  Road. 

Operations  continued  until  1852,  when  the  company  was  relieved 
of  all  its  road  between  Zoar  Bridge  and  the  town  house  in  Monroe  Vil- 
lage. Permission  was  granted  to  sell  the  tollhouse,  and  the  company 
was  allowed  to  retain  the  balance  of  its  road  with  one  gate  at  which 
half-rate  collections  could  be  made.  How  long  this  short  piece  re- 
mained a  toll  road  has  not  been  ascertained. 


THE    NORWICH    AND    SALEM   TURNPIKE 

In  May,  1827,  the  Norwich  and  Salem  Turnpike  Company  was  cre- 
ated, its  franchise  reading 

from  the  Wharf  bridge  in  Norwich  Landing  to  Salem  to  meet  the  road  leading  from 
Essex  to  Salem. 

The  Salem  we  meet  this  time  is  the  real  town  of  Salem,  which  is 
in  New  London  County  and  about  halfway  between  the  Thames  and 
Connecticut  rivers.  The  road  "  leading  from  Essex  to  Salem  "  was  the 
consolidation,  which  we  have  already  noticed,  of  the  Salem  and  Ham- 
burg, and  the  Essex  turnpikes.  As  previously  stated  this  corporation, 
the  Norwich  and  Salem,  formed,  with  the  Salem  and  Hamburg  and  a 
portion  of  the  Essex,  one  continuous  road  from  Norwich  to  Essex, 
which  was  generally  regarded  as  a  single  turnpike,  although  there  is  no 
evidence  of  the  corporations  ever  having  been  actually  merged. 

The  Norwich  and  Salem  started  from  the  Wharf  Bridge,  which 
stood  across  the  estuary  of  the  Yantic  River  on  the  southwesterly  side 
of  Norwich,  and  ran  directly  to  the  southwest  corner  of  the  town. 
Thence  it  passed  across  a  small  tip  of  the  town  of  Bozrah,  through  the 
[398] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 


northerly  part  of  Montville,  and  entered  Salem  by  the  old  Willoughby 
Tavern  near  the  south  end  of  Gardner  Lake. 

In  the  early  summer  of  1833  President  Andrew  Jackson,  on  his  offi- 
cial trip  to  New  England,  passed  over  the  Essex,  Salem  and  Hamburg, 
and  Norwich  and  Salem  turnpikes  on  his  way  to  Providence,  and  Boston. 

In  an  act  passed  in  1856  the  assembly  recited  that  the  Norwich  and 
Salem  Turnpike  had  been  out  of  repair  for  many  years  and  proceeded 
to  suspend  the  charter  of  the  corporation.  The  towns  of  Norwich, 
Bozrah,  Montville,  and  Salem  were  directed  to  repair  the  road,  and 
it  was  provided  that,  if  the  corporation  should  repay  them  for  the 
amounts  expended,  its  rights  under  the  charter  should  be  renewed.  This 
indefinite  condition  seems  to  have  existed  for  about  four  years,  for  Miss 
Caulkins  says,  in  her  "  History  of  Norwich,"  that  the  rights  in  the  road 
were  relinquished  in  i860. 


THE   NEW   MILFORD   AND   ROXBURY  TURNPIKE 

A  proposition  to  connect  New  Milford  with  Woodbury,  running 
from  a  connection  with  the  West  Point  Turnpike  in  New  York  to  the 
Middle  Turnpike  in  the  town  of  Woodbury,  was  chartered  by  the 
assembly  in  May,  1823,  under  the  name  of  the  New  Milford  and 
Woodbury  Turnpike  Company.  It  is  to  be  noted  in  connection  with  this 
late  charter  that  the  towns  were  to  be  obliged  to  pay  the  land  damages. 
But  for  some  reason  or  other,  this  project  of  1823  does  not  seem  to 
have  materialized. 

In  May,  1827,  the  New  Milford  and  Roxbury  Turnpike  Company 
was  chartered  to  build  from  the  east  end  of  the  New  Milford  and  Sher- 
man Turnpike  to  the  meeting-house  in  Roxbury,  and  all  portions  of  the 
route  granted  to  the  New  Milford  and  Woodbury  which  conflicted  with 
the  newly  granted  rights  were  declared  void. 

Orcutt's  "  History  of  New  Milford  "  tells  us  that  that  town  opposed 
the  granting  of  the  charter,  but  unsuccessfully.  The  road  was  built 
and  was  in  operation  in  1 83 1 .  Probably  it  continued  a  great  many  years 
longer,  for  this  was  one  of  those  local  roads  which,  we  have  observed, 
pursued  a  quiet  and  moderately  profitable  career. 

THE   TOLLAND   AND   MANSFIELD   TURNPIKE 

Some  calculating  mind,  in  which  distances  to  be  traveled  by  stages 
were  not  seriously  considered,  conceived  a  plan  about  1820  by  which 
the  stage  travel  over  the  Northern  Route  from  Boston  to  New  York 
was  to  be  diverted  at  the  westerly  end  of  the  First  Massachusetts  Turn- 
pike and  carried  to  Hartford  by  way  of  Tolland.  As  parts  of  this 
scheme  the  Wilbraham  Turnpike  was  chartered  in  Massachusetts  in 
1820,  and  in  Connecticut  efforts  were  made  to  have  the  Burbank  Road 

[399] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

completed.  This  road  had  been  laid  out  from  the  Massachusetts  line 
through  Somers,  Stafford,  Ellington,  and  Tolland  to  the  Tolland  court- 
house, by  the  towns  involved,  in  1805,  but  the  cost  seemed  prohibitive, 
so  the  project  languished  for  many  years.  Finally,  in  May,  1828,  the 
Tolland  and  Mansfield  Turnpike  Company  was  formed  for  the  purpose 
of  building  the  Burbank  Road,  with  an  additional  section  running  from 
Tolland  Street  to  Daniel  Fuller's  in  Mansfield.  Had  the  whole  plan 
been  carried  out,  a  roundabout  route  between  Worcester  and  Hartford 
would  have  been  provided,  but  the  need  of  it  is  not  evident  to  the  present 
generation.  Apparently  it  was  not  to  the  people  of  a  century  ago,  for 
the  Wilbraham  was  never  built. 

But  the  Tolland  and  Mansfield  was  and,  by  its  southerly  connection 
at  Daniel  Fuller's  with  the  Windham  and  Mansfield  Turnpike,  un- 
doubtedly provided  for  some  business  between  Norwich  and  Springfield. 
This  corporation  was  obliged  to  build  its  own  bridges,  except  those  over 
the  Willimantic  and  Skunkermaug  rivers.  The  freedom  from  this  obli- 
gation seems  to  have  troubled  the  town  of  Somers,  for  it  voted  to  assume 
the  burden  of  the  three  bridges  within  its  limits,  an  arrangement  which 
the  assembly  sanctioned  in  May,  1834. 

The  charter  of  the  Tolland  and  Mansfield  was  repealed  in  1847. 


THE   HUNTINGTON   TURNPIKE 

A  short  time  previous  to  May,  1828,  the  Fairfield  county  court 
made  a  layout  of  a  highway  from  the  center  of  Huntington  to  the 
borough  of  Bridgeport,  for  the  purpose  of  having  the  same  built  as  a 
turnpike.  The  assembly  of  the  month  named  deprived  the  road  of  its 
public  character  and  formed  the  Huntington  Turnpike  Company  to 
take  over  the  location  and  build  the  road.  In  1830  authority  was  given 
to  extend  the  turnpike  to  the  west  bank  of  the  flousatonic  River,  thus 
giving  a  through  route  from  Bridgeport  to  Derby  Landing. 

The  road  as  finally  built  started  from  the  river  opposite  Derby  Land- 
ing and  ran  westerly  and  southerly  to  Huntington  Center,  thence  south- 
westerly through  Trumbull  into  Bridgeport,  where  it  intersected  a  new 
road  which  led  into  the  center  of  the  borough. 

In  1852  all  of  the  road  west  of  the  easterly  abutment  of  the  Berk- 
shire Bridge  was  made  free.  This,  it  is  seen,  included  the  bridge  which 
Bridgeport  was  loath  to  take  on  account  of  its  condition.  So  the  cor- 
poration was  obliged  to  pay  the  town  four  hundred  and  fifty  dollars 
toward  the  needed  repairs. 

The  rest  of  the  road  continued  under  the  imposition  of  tolls  until 
March  24,  1886,  when  an  act  was  passed  authorizing  the  corporation 
to  relinquish  its  rights  and  make  the  road  free. 


[400] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 


THE   WESTON   TURNPIKE 

This  turnpike  was  built  from  Philo  Lyons  to  the  Black  Rock  Road 
in  Fairfield  with  a  branch  from  Fairfield  to  the  Academy  in  Weston. 

From  Barber's  "  Connecticut  Historical  Collections  "  we  learn  that 
the  academy  mentioned  was  in  the  village  of  Easton,  which  was  then  a 
part  of  Weston,  and  that  it  was  possessed  of  a  fund  that  rendered  it  a 
free  school.  It  was  presented  to  the  town  by  Samuel  Staples,  who  in- 
cluded in  his  gift  sufficient  land  in  the  vicinity  to  support  it. 

A  revision  of  the  tolls  was  made  in  1861  and  the  road  was  made  free 
on  the  day  on  which  Fairfield  County  had  a  clearance  of  turnpikes, 
March  24,  1886.  The  Weston  Turnpike  Company  was  incorporated 
in  May,  1828,  and  had  a  life  of  fifty-eight  years. 

THE  SUGAR   HOLLOW  TURNPIKE 

The  Sugar  Hollow  Turnpike  was  remarkable  because  it  provided  for 
extensions  on  each  end  of  a  previously  established  turnpike,  using  the 
older  road  for  a  connection  for  its  two  sections,  and  further  because  it 
derived  its  name  from  the  particular  section  traversed  by  the  road  first 
built.  One  would  say  that  the  charter  really  was  an  amendment  of  the 
first  one,  but  additions  to  or  alterations  of  existing  roads  were  com- 
monly provided  by  amending  acts  and  could  easily  have  been  so  secured 
in  this  case.    Evidence  favors  the  idea  of  two  separate  companies. 

The  road  commenced  in  Wilton  on  the  Norwalk  and  Danbury  Turn- 
pike and  then  passed  through  the  Mountain  Gap  to  Ridgefield  Center, 
where  it  met  the  southerly  end  of  the  Danbury  and  Ridgefield  Turn- 
pike. The  layout  is  then  described  as  "  on  said  turnpike-road  through 
Sugar  Hollow."  At  a  point  almost  at  the  end  of  the  Danbury  and 
Ridgefield  in  Danbury,  the  new  road  branched  northwesterly  and,  cross- 
ing the  outlet  of  Mill  Plain  Pond,  extended  to  the  New  York  line. 

The  Sugar  Hollow  Turnpike  Company  was  formed  at  the  May  ses- 
sion of  1829,  and  nothing  appears  regarding  it  after  1836,  when  a 
change  of  gates  was  allowed.  The  Danbury  and  Ridgefield's  charter 
was  repealed  in  i860  and,  since  the  two  roads  were  so  interwoven,  it 
seems  probable  that  the  Sugar  Hollow  became  free  at  the  same  time, 
although  no  act  to  that  effect  has  been  found. 

THE  NEWTOWN  AND  NORWALK  TURNPIKE 

The  franchise  under  which  this  road  was  located  allowed  it  to  be 
built  from  the  foot  of  Main  Street  in  Newtown,  passing  near  the  Epis- 
copal Church  in  Redding,  through  the  westerly  part  of  Weston,  with 
the  option  of  passing  through  the  easterly  part  of  Wilton,  to  the  Great 
Bridge  in  Norwalk  at  the  head  of  Norwalk  Harbor.     It  was  granted 

[401] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   NEW    ENGLAND 

to  the  Newtown  and  Norwalk  Turnpike  Company  in  May,  1829,  a 
late  date  for  so  long  a  road.  Financing  evidently  was  not  easy,  for  the 
company  was  obliged  to  apply  for  an  extension  of  time,  which  was 
granted  in  1830. 

Apparently  this  turnpike  is  the  Newtown  Avenue  of  to-day  in  Nor- 
walk, and  the  road  in  continuation,  which  twists  through  the  southeast 
corner  of  Wilton  and  then  passes  northerly  through  Weston  and  Red- 
ding and  into  Newtown,  where  it  reaches  Newtown  Center  after  going 
near  Hattertown  and  Dodgingtown.  It  intersected  the  Northfield 
Turnpike  near  where  it  crossed  the  Saugatuck  River  in  the  northeast 
corner  of  Weston. 

All  of  the  road  north  of  the  Northfield  Turnpike  was  made  free  in 
1 841,  and  the  balance,  through  the  towns  of  Weston,  Wilton,  Westport, 
and  Norwalk,  passed  into  public  control  in  185 1. 

THE   SHETUCKET  TURNPIKE 

Although  by  the  building  of  the  Providence  and  Norwich  Turnpike 
in  Rhode  Island,  and  the  New  London  and  Windham  County  Turnpike 
in  Connecticut,  travel  between  Providence  and  Norwich  had  been  ac- 
commodated to  a  greater  extent  than  it  was  able  to  pay  for,  certain 
optimists  found  encouragement  to  believe  that  a  rival  route,  having  no 
advantages  beyond  the  saving  of  a  mile  or  two,  would  prove  a  paying 
investment.  We  have  already  seen  how  Duty  Green  labored  in  Rhode 
Island  to  promote  the  Providence  and  Norwich  City  Turnpike  but  failed 
to  interest  the  necessary  capital.  We  will  now  consider  the  efforts  to 
carry  out  the  Connecticut  end  of  the  same  scheme. 

The  Shetucket  Turnpike  Company  received  from  the  assembly  of 
May,  1829,  a  charter  to  build  a  road  from  the  toll  bridge  over  the  She- 
tucket at  Norwich  Landing  through  Preston,  Griswold,  Voluntown,  and 
Sterling,  to  the  Rhode  Island  line,  and,  although  obliged  to  secure  an 
extension  of  its  time  in  183 1,  managed  to  have  its  turnpike  in  operation 
by  1832.  Miss  Caulkins'  "  History  of  Norwich  "  says  that  the  capital 
invested  was  eleven  thousand  dollars,  and  that  during  its  thirty  years  of 
existence  the  corporation  paid  an  average  of  only  one  and  one  third 
per  cent  in  dividends.  Considering  that  the  Rhode  Island  part  of  the 
plan  contemplated  a  road  running  straight  from  the  state  boundary  to 
Providence,  and  that  that  part  failed  of  consummation,  leaving  practi- 
cally no  connection  at  all  with  Providence,  it  is  a  wonder  that  the  man- 
agement was  able  to  make  both  ends  meet.  But  the  Shetucket  Turn- 
pike connected  at  Voluntown  Center  with  the  old  "  Ten  Rod  Road," 
which  led  by  Beach  Pond  on  the  state  boundary  to  Wickford  on  Narra- 
gansett  Bay,  and  since  over  that  road  large  numbers  of  cattle  were 
driven  for  shipment  abroad,  it  is  possible  that  the  Shetucket  may  have 
shared  that  business. 

The  cost  of  this  road  appears  to  have  been  about  $610  a  mile,  and 
[402] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 

the  average  of  its  net  earnings,  according  to  Miss  Caulkins,  was  about 
$8.15  per  mile  per  year. 

By  1859  tne  corporation  had  had  enough  and  it  then  asked  for  an 
additional  gate,  or  that  a  portion  of  its  road  might  be  assumed  by  the 
t  towns.  Another  gate  was  too  much,  but  the  assembly  obligingly  al- 
lowed the  company  to  unload  on  to  the  town  of  Voluntown  that  part 
of  its  road  between  the  east  line  of  that  town  and  the  highway  at 
Robbins  Tavern.  As  long  as  tolls  were  collected  in  Voluntown  on  the 
remainder  of  the  road,  the  corporation  was  obliged  to  pay  forty  dollars 
annually  to  Voluntown  to  make  repairs  on  the  part  given  up. 

In  June,  i860,  provision  was  made  for  the  surrender  of  the  entire 
road,  upon  such  terms  as  might  be  agreed.  If  agreement  was  found 
impossible  the  superior  court  of  New  London  County  was  to  appoint 
commissioners  to  fix  the  price,  but  acceptance  of  their  award  was  de- 
pendent upon  a  vote  of  the  town  implicated,  so  that  law  did  not  amount 
to  anything. 

In  July,  1 86 1,  the  same  act  was  renewed  but  without  the  provision 
that  the  towns  might  vote  on  acceptance.  They  were  then  forced  to 
take  the  road  and  pay  the  commissioners'  award  for  it,  and  Voluntown 
lost  the  forty  dollars  which  it  had  been  collecting  yearly. 

Under  this  act  Preston,  Griswold,  and  Voluntown  assumed  the  She- 
tucket  Turnpike  and  made  up  the  price  of  $1375  between  them. 

THE   WELLS   HOLLOW   TURNPIKE 

Incorporated  in  May,  1830,  the  Wells  Hollow  Turnpike  Company 
built  its  road  from  the  west  side  of  the  Housatonic  River,  where  the 
Leavenworth  Bridge  Company  was  about  to  erect  a  bridge,  toward 
Bridgeport,  through  the  valley  called  Wells  Hollow,  and  joining  the 
Huntington  Turnpike  near  Elan  Hawley's  store  in  the  center  of 
Huntington. 

The  Leavenworth  Bridge  Company  was  first  incorporated  in  May, 
1804,  when  Gideon  Leavenworth  and  others  received  a  charter  to 
bridge  the  Housatonic  at  Derby  Landing.  In  May,  1830,  an  act  was 
passed  by  which  the  company  was  allowed  to  sell  its  bridge,  tollhouse, 
and  all  other  property,  dividing  the  proceeds  among  its  stockholders. 
Then  a  new  corporation  was  to  be  formed,  or  rather  new  stock  of 
the  old  corporation  was  to  be  created,  which  was  to  be  sold,  prefer- 
ence being  given  to  former  shareholders.  From  the  capital  thus  raised 
a  new  bridge  was  to  be  erected  at  Hawkins  Point  in  Derby  or  farther 
north  at  "  the  point  of  rock."  That  was  the  bridge  referred  to  in  the 
charter  of  the  Wells  Hollow  Turnpike.  In  1833  the  name  of  the 
Leavenworth  Bridge  Company  was  changed  to  Derby  Bridge  and  Ferry 
Company,  and  under  that  name  the  bridge  was  operated  as  a  toll  bridge 
until  1872,  when  it  was  sold  to  the  towns  of  Derby  and  Huntington  and 
by  them  made  free. 

[403] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


The  Wells  Hollow  Turnpike,  in  connection  with  the  Huntington 
Turnpike,  formed  nearly  a  direct  route  from  Derby  Landing  to  Bridge- 
port. In  the  final  clean-up  of  Fairfield  County  on  March  24,  1886,  both 
the  Huntington  and  the  Wells  Hollow  turnpikes  were  made  free. 

THE   BRANCH   TURNPIKE 

The  Branch  Turnpike  Company  was  incorporated  in  May,  1831,  and 
built  a  road  from  Bennett's  Bridge  over  the  Housatonic  River  between 
Newtown  and  Southbury,  through  Newtown,  Monroe,  Weston,  Fair- 
field, and  Westport.  In  1836  an  alteration  was  allowed  from  a  point 
in  Monroe  to  Bennett's  Bridge. 

Apparently  this  is  the  road  which  now  starts  a  little  south  of  West- 
port  Village  and  runs  northeasterly,  forming  the  boundary  between 
Weston  and  Fairfield,  across  the  town  of  Easton  and  the  northwesterly 
part  of  Monroe  to  Bennett's  Bridge. 

In  1837  all  of  the  road,  about  one  mile,  which  lay  south  of  West- 
port  Village  was  made  free,  and  the  balance  of  the  road  was  similarly 
treated  in  1851  when  the  charter  was  repealed. 

THE   BLACK   ROCK  AND   WESTON   TURNPIKE 

The  road  running  northwesterly  from  Black  Rock  Harbor  across 
the  town  of  Fairfield  and  to  some  point  in  Weston,  north  of  the  Branch 
Turnpike,  was  built  by  the  Black  Rock  and  Weston  Turnpike  Company 
under  a  charter  granted  in  May,  1832. 

The  lower  end  between  Fairfield  and  Black  Rock  was  made  free  in 
1844,  with  the  apparently  unreasonable  provision  that  no  gate  should 
be  maintained  on  the  remainder  for  which  the  corporation  still  was 
held  responsible.  The  rest  within  Fairfield's  limits  was  discontinued 
as  a  turnpike  in  1847,  and  all  in  Easton  became  public  in  1851. 

The  reason  for  selecting  Black  Rock  Harbor  for  the  terminus  is 
learned  from  Barber's  "  Historical  Collections,"  which  were  published 
soon  after  the  opening  of  this  road.     We  there  read: 

BLACK  ROCK  harbor,  about  I1,/;  miles  from  Fairfield  court  house,  is,  with  the 
exception  of  New  London,  one  of  the  best  harbors  in  the  Sound,  being  safe  and  com- 
modious, and  having  19  feet  of  water  at  summer  tides,  below  what  is  called  the 
middle  ground.  There  is  a  lighthouse  on  Fairweather's  Island,  which  forms  the 
easterly  chop  of  the  harbor.  Vessels  can,  enter  and  depart  from  this  harbor  at  any 
time  of  the  tide. 

THE   MONROE   AND   NEWTOWN   TURNPIKE 

This  was  a  short  road  which  led  from  the  Bridgeport  and  Newtown 
Turnpike  at  Upper  Stepney  and  ran  northwesterly  close  to  the  line 
between  Monroe  and  Easton,  across  the  southwesterly  corner  of  New- 

[404] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 

town  to  Dodgingtown,  where  it  ended  at  the  line  of  Bethel,  then  a  part 
of  Danbury. 

In  1847  the  company  was  allowed  to  move  a  gate  and  was  author- 
ized to  sell  the  tollhouse  and  the  connected  land. 

The  Monroe  and  Newtown  Turnpike  Company  was  chartered  in 
May,  1833. 

THE    FAIRFIELD   COUNTY   TURNPIKE 

The  Fairfield  County  Turnpike  Company  was  formed  in  May,  1834, 
with  a  franchise  to  build  a  road  from  the  northerly  end  of  the  Black 
Rock  and  Weston  Turnpike,  through  Weston  and  Newtown  to  the 
intersection  of  the  Brookfield  Road  with  the  Middle  Road  Turnpike, 
and  thence  to  Meeker's  Mills  in  Brookfield. 

The  location  was  changed  in  1836  and  again  in  1837,  and  the  charter 
was  repealed  in  1848. 

THE    HADLYME,   AND   CHESTER   AND   NORTH 
KILLINGWORTH    SECOND   TURNPIKES 

By  the  opening  in  1816  of  the  Chester  and  North  Killingworth 
Turnpike  a  short  local  road  was  provided  between  two  country  centers, 
but  it  happened  that  the  road  lay  in  almost  a  direct  line  between  Nor- 
wich and  New  Haven,  although  far  from  both  cities  and  without  turn- 
pike connection  on  either  end  in  their  direction. 

In  May,  1834,  various  parties  who  were  subject  to  the  turnpike  delu- 
sion regarding  the  value  of  shortened  distances,  and  who  failed  to 
realize  the  approach  of  the  railroad,  saw  in  the  route  along  the  line  of 
the  Chester  and  North  Killingworth  a  desirable  opening  for  turnpike 
investment.  Consequently  the  Hadlyme  Turnpike  Company  was  char- 
tered in  that  month  for  the  purpose  of  building  from  Warner's  Ferry 
through  Lyme  and  East  Haddam  to  a  junction  with  the  Salem  and 
Hamburg  Turnpike  in  the  westerly  part  of  Salem;  and  the  Chester  and 
North  Killingworth  Second  Turnpike  Company  was  formed  at  the  same 
session  to  continue  the  route  westerly,  starting  from  Warner's  Ferry  and 
running  to  the  easterly  end  of  the  Chester  and  North  Killingworth. 
The  Chester  and  North  Killingworth  Second's  charter  further  allowed 
that  company  to  build  westerly  from  the  west  end  of  the  older  road  to 
a  junction  with  the  Fairhaven  Turnpike,  but  it  does  not  appear  that 
that  part  of  the  franchise  was  utilized  by  this  company. 

Warner's  Ferry  had  been  in  operation  across  the  Connecticut  River 
between  Chester  and  Hadlyme  for  sixty-five  years  at  this  time,  having 
been  established  in  1769. 

On  account  of  the  well-known  inability  of  turnpikes  to  pay  on  their 
investment  and  the  agitation  for  railroads  which  had  been  under  way 
for  several  years,  it  can  be  imagined  that  the  promoters  of  this  turnpike 

[405] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

enterprise  found  it  difficult  to  persuade  moneyed  men  to  join  them. 
Nevertheless  as  the  time  limit  of  the  Hadlyme  neared  expiration  that 
corporation  found  itself  with  a  road  seven  eighths  completed  and  mostly 
paid  for,  so  the  assembly  of  1837  saw  fit  to  grant  an  extension  of  time 
for  completion. 

The  Chester  and  North  Killingworth  Second  must  have  proceeded 
with  as  much  promptness  and  built  its  road  from  Warner's  Ferry  to 
Chester,  but  since  another  corporation  was  formed  in  1835  with  a  fran- 
chise covering  the  same  ground  as  the  Second's  western  section  it  is 
plain  that  that  portion  was  not  built  at  this  time.  In  a  petition  filed  by 
the  Chester  and  North  Killingworth  Second  the  investment  is  given  as 
twenty-three  hundred  dollars,  about  enough  to  pay  for  two  miles  with 
ferry  approaches  and  improvements.  The  same  petition  gave  the 
"  total  dividends  "  as  1.3  per  cent.  That  covered  a  period  of  about  ten 
years,  and  it  is  quite  possible  that  "  total  "  was  properly  used  and  that 
the  average  dividend  yearly  had  been  about  0.13  per  cent. 

In  1846  the  charter  of  the  Chester  and  North  Killingworth  Second 
was  annulled,  and  that  of  the  Hadlyme  was  repealed  in  1847. 

It  may  be  remarked  that  a  charter  for  a  railroad  was  passed  at 
the  same  session  which  granted  the  two  turnpike  franchises  here 
considered. 


THE   SHERMAN  AND   REDDING   TURNPIKE 

The  Sherman  and  Redding  Turnpike  Company  was  formed  at  the 
May  session  in  1834  and  allowed  to  build  from  Sherman  to  either  the 
Newtown  and  Norwalk  Turnpike  in  Redding,  or  to  the  Northfield  in 
Weston.  It  is  clear  that  the  plans  were  carried  out,  but  it  is  impossible 
to-day  to  pick  out  the  location  of  the  road. 

A  petition  filed  in  1846  declared  that  the  turnpike  was  never  de- 
manded by  public  necessity  or  convenience  and  that  for  six  years  it 
had  been  "  wholly  and  entirely  abandoned,"  and  consequently  was  im- 
passable and  useless.  From  that  it  appears  that  the  life  of  the  turn- 
pike had  been  less  than  six  years  and  that  the  corporation  had  practi- 
cally made  its  road  free.  But  some  form  of  public  dedication  seems  to 
have  remained  and  the  assembly,  therefore,  discontinued  a  section  be- 
tween the  Danbury  and  Brookfield  line  and  the  highway  leading  from 
Danbury  to  Newtown,  which  thereby  ceased  to  be  a  road  at  all,  and 
the  land  reverted  to  the  former  owners.  In  1852  similar  action  was 
taken  with  reference  to  several  disconnected  parts  of  the  road,  so  that 
all  that  could  be  expected  to  exist  to-day  are  a  few  short  pieces  of  coun- 
try road  in  separate  places. 


[406] 


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Approaching  the  Windham  Turnpike 
Near  Hop  River  Station 
In  Andover,  Conn. 

Plate  XCVI  —  Hop  River  Turnpike 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 


THE   MADISON   AND   NORTH   KILLINGWORTH  TURNPIKE 

It  has  been  noted  that  the  Chester  and  North  Killingworth  Second 
Turnpike  Company  did  not  improve  its  franchise  on  the  westerly  end, 
but  that  that  was  left  for  another  corporation.  A  year  later,  in  May, 
1835,  the  Madison  and  North  Killingworth  Turnpike  Company  was 
incorporated  with  a  franchise  reaching  from  the  west  end  of  the  Chester 
and  North  Killingworth  Turnpike  to  the  Fairhaven  Turnpike  in  North 
Madison.  By  the  construction  of  this  road  the  short  line  of  turnpike 
communication  between  Norwich  and  New  Haven  was  completed,  but 
it  was  a  disappointment  to  its  projectors. 

We  have  noted  the  demise!  of  the  Hadlyme  and  of  the  Chester  and 
North  Killingworth  Second  in  1847  and  1846  respectively.  The  Madi- 
son and  North  Killingworth  preceded  them  by  four  years,  its  charter 
having  been  repealed  in  1842. 

THE  HOP   RIVER   TURNPIKE 

The  Hartford,  New  London,  Windham,  and  Tolland  County  Turn- 
pike, which  extended  from  Bolton  Notch  to  Norwichtown,  must  have 
gone  out  of  business,  at  least  on  its  westerly  end,  before  1835,  for  on 
that  date  in  May,  the  Hop  River  Turnpike  Company  was  formed 
and  granted  a  franchise  which  covered  the  road  of  the  long-named 
company  from  Andover  to  Bolton  Notch.  The  rest  of  the  Hop  River 
route  carried  it  to  the  village  of  Willimantic,  where  it  entered  the 
Windham  Turnpike  over  the  street  which  now  forms  the  westerly 
boundary  of  the  Willimantic  Cemetery  and  terminates  opposite  the 
almshouse. 

This  company  invested  over  five  thousand  dollars,  according  to  its 
own  statement  in  a  petition  filed  in  1851,  which  makes  an  average  cost 
of  about  three  hundred  and  sixty  dollars  a  mile. 

The  Hartford,  Providence,  and  Fishkill  Railroad  commenced  opera- 
tions in  1842  and  paralleled  the  turnpike,  close  by,  for  its  entire  length. 
Poor  enough  before,  the  business  of  the  Hop  River  then  became  abso- 
lutely valueless,  but  the  company  held  on  until  1851  when  it  sought  to 
be. relieved  of  the  responsibility  for  the  road.  The  assembly  allowed 
that  it  might  be  so  relieved,  if  no  one  of  the  towns  interested  made  pro- 
test, but  apparently  one  did,  for  the  act  was  of  no  effect. 

In  1853  outside  parties  made  petition  that  the  road  might  be  made 
a  public  obligation.  The  road  was  very  much  out  of  repair  and  one 
of  the  bridges  was  broken  down  and  impassable.  The  corporation  had 
vanished,  and  no  process  could  be  served  on  it,  but  the  road  was  a  public 
necessity. 

So  the  Hop  River  Turnpike  was  legislated  into  the  past,  and  the 
towns  of  Windham,  Columbia,  Andover,  and  Bolton  were  obliged  to 
assume  its  maintenance. 

[407] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 


CONNECTICUT'S    PLANK   ROADS 

Plank  roads  had  been  thoroughly  demonstrated  for  about  sixteen 
years  before  the  venture  was  made  in  Connecticut.  The  first  company 
was  the  Danbury,  Redding,  Weston,  and  Westport  Plank  Road  Com- 
pany which  was  incorporated  in  185 1.  In  this  charter  a  mild  form 
of  specification  for  the  road  was  included. 

The  track  of  which  plank  road  shall  be  made  of  timber,  plank,  or  other  hard  mate- 
rial, so  that  the  same  shall  form  a  hard  and  even  surface. 

The  authority  given  the  corporation  for  laying  out  its  road  and  tak- 
ing land  was  comprehensively  expressed  and  has  since  been  followed 
in  its  language  in  railroad  franchises.  The  capital  stock  was  fixed  at 
one  hundred  thousand  dollars,  divided  into  shares  of  a  par  value  of 
fifty  dollars  each,  which  shares  were  declared  to  be  personal  property. 
Gates  could  be  erected  where  the  management  saw  fit,  provided  they 
were  not  less  than  three  miles  apart.  Tolls  were  to  be  fixed  by  the  cor- 
poration but  were  not  to  be  in  excess  of  the  following  schedule : 

Any  vehicle  drawn  by  two  animals 2  cents  a  mile 

Each  additional  animal !/2 

Any  vehicle  drawn  by  one  animal I 

Each  horse  and  rider,  or  led  animal Y2 

Each  mule,  cattle,  sheep,  or  swine 1/10 

No  mention  of  this  road  has  been  found  in  local  histories  and  only 
the  act  of  incorporation  appears  in  the  publication  of  special  acts.  On 
account  of  its  late  date  it  is  unlikely  that  it  could  have  escaped  the  notice 
of  the  historians  if  it  had  been  built.  The  distance  was  about  thirty- 
four  miles  and,  since  the  Danbury  and  Norwalk  Railroad  was  even 
at  the  date  of  the  charter  under  construction  and  commenced  operations 
in  1852,  an  investment  of  one  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  a  decadent 
type  of  road  would  have  been  injudicious.  It  seems  safe  to  say  that  the 
road  was  not  built. 

The  Stamford,  New  Canaan,  and  Ridgefield  Plank  Road  Company 
was  created  in  the  same  year  to  build  from  Stamford  through  Darien 
to  New  Canaan  "  with  permission  to  extend  said  plank  road  to  and  into 
the  town  of  Ridgefield."  Nothing  more  has  been  found  regarding  this 
effort. 

Two  roads  to  lead  into  New  Haven  were  authorized.  The  New 
Haven  and  Seymour  Plank  Road  Company  and  the  Wallingford,  North 
Haven  and  New  Haven  Plank  Road  Company  received  their  charters 
in  1852  and  1853  respectively.  In  the  "  History  of  New  Haven,"  writ- 
ten by  George  H.  Watrous,  a  successful  attorney  of  New  Haven  and 
president  of  the  New  York,  New  Haven,  and  Hartford  Railroad  Com- 
pany for  several  years,  is  found  a  thorough  summary  of  transportation 
affecting  that  city.  Since  he  included  every  other  form  of  roadway, 
[408] 


THE    TURNPIKES    OF    CONNECTICUT 

pioneer  paths,  turnpikes,  railroads,  and  canals,  his  omission  of  any 
reference  to  plank  roads  seems  to  remove  them  from  the  history  of 
New  Haven.  Sharpe,  in  his  "  History  of  Seymour,"  refers  to  the  for- 
mation of  the  New  Haven  and  Seymour  Company  but  leaves  the  reader 
with  an  impression  that  it  did  nothing. 

The  Woodbury  and  Seymour  Plank  Road  Company  was  chartered 
in  1852  to  build  from  some  point  in  Woodbury  through  Southbury, 
Oxford,  and  Seymour  to  Seymour  on  the  Naugatuck  River. 

Although  Sharpe,  in  his  "  History  of  Seymour,"  mentions  this  as  the 
only  company  collecting  tolls  in  1879,  positive  assertion  is  made  by 
competent  Woodbury  authority  that  no  such  plank  road  ever  existed. 
Perhaps  a  short  section  was  built  and  operated  in  Seymour  only. 

In  1853  another  company,  the  Salisbury  Plank  Road  Company,  was 
incorporated  to  build  from  the  New  York  line  acrossi  the  town  of  Salis- 
bury, through  Lime  Rock,  and  to  end  at  Falls  Village  in  Canaan.  The 
New  York  and  Harlem  and  the  Housatonic  railroads  were  then  cross- 
ing the  ends  of  this  proposed  route  in  parallel  directions  and  only  about 
nine  miles  apart,  so  the  need  of  an  investment  of  about  fifteen  thousand 
dollars  is  hard  to  see.  An  old  resident  of  Falls  Village  who  said,  "  I 
knew  them  all,"  when  the  names  of  the  incorporators  were  read  to  him, 
had  never  heard  of  the  Salisbury  Plank  Road  and  was  very  certain  that 
nothing  of  the  kind  was  ever  built. 

But  one  charter  was  granted  which  was  not  issued  in  vain. 

THE   WATERBURY   AND   CHESHIRE    PLANK   ROAD 

The  Waterbury  and  Cheshire  Plank  Road  Company  was  formed  in 
1852  to  provide  plank-road  communication  between  the  towns  named. 
Its  road  was  built  and  is  mentioned  in  Bronson's  "  History  of  Water- 
bury,"  published  in  1858,  as  "the  new  plank  road."  Anderson  also 
mentions  it,  but  in  a  casual  way.  It  ran  from  Waterbury  Village  easterly 
and  entered  the  old  Cheshire  Road  just  north  of  Spectacle  Pond. 

Besides  the  companies  which  have  been  mentioned  in  the  preceding 
pages  the  following,  of  which  we  have  been  able  to  glean  no  further 
facts,  were  incorporated  by  the  Connecticut  general  assembly. 

October    1797    Stratfield  and  Weston  Turnpike  Company. 

Apparently  wholly  in  the  town  of  Weston. 
May         1802    Greenwich  and  Ridgefield  Turnpike  Company. 

Mostly  within  New  York  State. 
October    181 2    Farmington  and  Harwinton  Turnpike  Company. 

Between  those  towns. 
October    181 7    Dragon  Turnpike  Company. 

New  Haven  to  Connecticut  River.    Was  not  built. 
May         1818    Granby  and  Barkhamsted  Turnpike  Company. 

Was  never  finished. 
May         1 818    Wolcott  and  Hampden  Turnpike  Company. 

Through  Plymouth,  Wolcott,  and  Hampden. 

[409] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF   NEW   ENGLAND 


May         1820   Pleasant  Valley  Turnpike  Company. 

River  Head  to  Warner's  Ferry. 
May         1823    Woodbridge  and  Waterbury  Turnpike  Company. 

Waterbury  to  Woodbury. 

Moosup  Turnpike  Company. 

Union  Factory  Village  to  Rhode  Island  line. 

Simpaug  Turnpike  Company. 

In  Ridgefield. 

Kent  and  Warren  Turnpike  Company. 

New  York  line,  through  Kent,  to  Litchfield. 

Litchfield  and  Plymouth  Turnpike  Company. 

Between  those  towns. 

Millington  Turnpike  Company. 

East  Haddam  to  Colchester. 


May 

1830 

May 

1832 

May 

1834 

May 

1836 

May 

1839 

[410] 


Gate  near  Fredericksburg,  Va. 
Typical  view  of  the  road 
Middle  Gate 

Plate  XCVII — Turnpike  of  Spotsylvania  County,  Virginia 


ENDING  AS   IT  BEGAN 


ENDING  AS   IT   BEGAN 

Many  states  still  have  toll  roads  in  this  year  1919,  and  in  Virginia 
we  find  systematic  efforts  by  the  counties,  assisted  by  the  state,  to  finally 
make  free  all  highways. 

At  the  beginning  of  the  present  demand  for  good  roads  that  state 
responded  enthusiastically  and  entered  upon  as  extensive  a  program  of 
construction  as  could  then  be  financed.  Provision  was  made  for  a  sys- 
tem of  state  aid  for  the  various  counties  by  which  the  state  was  to  pay 
one  half  of  the  cost  of  road  construction,  and  under  this  encouragement 
many  of  the  counties  embarked  upon  an  extensive  line  of  work.  About 
1 9 10,  feeling  that  the  rate  of  progress  was  not  fast  enough,  an  act  was 
passed  by  which  authority  was  given  for  the  counties  of  the  state  to  issue 
bonds  for  the  construction  of  roads  and  bridges,  and  many  miles  of 
Virginia  roads  appeared  in  response,  a  total  of  $9,198,200  being  ob- 
tained by  bond  issues  in  forty-three  counties  for  that  purpose  since  1907. 

After  a  few  years  of  this  commendable  construction  the  maintenance 
problem  appeared  and  soon  became  insistent.  This  introduced  new  fea- 
tures, as  the  counties  had  already  obligated  themselves  to  their  limit  and 
no  means  seemed  at  hand  by  which  the  new  expenses  could  be  met.  In 
this  dilemma  recourse  was  had,  perhaps  unconsciously,  to  the  two-and- 
a-half-century-old  precedent  established  by  Charles  II  when,  after  pro- 
viding that  a  road  should  first  be  put  in  thorough  repair,  he  authorized 
the  erection  of  tollgates  across  it  by  which  it  was  hoped  to  collect  from 
those  using  the  road  the  cost  of  maintaining  it.  Accordingly  it  was 
enacted  in  Virginia  a  few  years  ago  that  different  counties  might  estab- 
lish tollgates  and  collect  toll  upon  such  roads  as  had  been  built  by  bond 
issues. 

Under  such  authority  Spotsylvania  County  proceeded  to  derive  reve- 
nue from  the  main  road  leading  south  from  Fredericksburg  toward  Rich- 
mond, and  tolls  were  collected  on  that  road  at  three  gates  for  the  three 
years  ending  December  31,  19 19. 

Augusta  County,  since  1907,  has  been  building  about  ten  miles  of 
good  roads  annually,  one  half  of  the  cost  being  met  by  the  state,  and 
in  191 2  a  bond  issue  produced  $250,000  which  was  expended  for  aboat 
thirty  miles  of  water-bound  and  penetration  macadam.  In  191 1  the 
maintenance  problem  appeared  in  this  county,  and  relief  was  sought  by 
the  erection  of  tollgates  on  such  roads  as  had  been  built  by  state  aid. 
Not  much  was  accomplished  by  such  means  as  the  rates  of  toll  were 
insufficient  and  the  system  of  maintenance  faulty,  but  in  1914  a  reorgani- 
zation was  made  in  both  departments,  since  which  time  the  tolls  collected 
have  provided  sufficient  funds  for  the  maintenance.  But  a  business  which 
only  collects  enough  to  meet  its  expenses  is  not  attractive  as  an  invest- 
ment, and  this  further  emphasizes  the  fact  which  has  been  often  pointed 
out  in  previous  pages,  that  a  turnpike  never  was  and  never  can  be  sound 

[411] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

financially.     From  the  monthly  and  yearly  reports  of  Augusta  County 
the  following  is  taken. 

Report  of  the  Churchville  Road  for  191 8. 

Total   tolls  collected  $5880.89 

Average  per  mile  $588.09 

Total  expenditures  4590.85 

Average  per  mile  459-09 


$1290.04  $129.00 

From  which  it  is  seen  that  there  is  derived,  above  the  unavoidable  ex- 
penses which  are  met  regularly,  an  amount  sufficient  only  to  pay  the  inter- 
est on  a  bond  issue  of  about  $2500  per  mile.  The  "  total  expenditures  " 
listed  above  probably  contains  none  of  the  items  commonly  listed  as 
"overhead,"  such  as  supervision  by  the  county  superintendent  or  his 
assistants  or  the  necessary  bookkeeping.  From  the  above  it  is  plain 
that  even  with  the  increased  rates  of  toll  and  additional  travel  due  to 
automobiles  a  turnpike  is  no  more  to  be  recommended  as  an  investment 
now  than  it  was  a  century  ago. 

But  the  counties  are  not  in  the  toll  business  for  profit,  and  the  gates, 
established  for  the  purpose  of  eking  out  a  fund  which  was  too  large  for 
taxation,  are  well  serving  their  purpose.  The  arrangement  has  been 
followed  in  many  Virginia  counties,  purely  as  a  temporary  measure  until 
some  definite  financial  plan  could  be  produced  by  which  the  counties  could 
be  relieved  from  their  burdens  and  at  the  same  time  cause  the  removal 
of  the  tollgates.  That  has  largely  been  accomplished  by  the  adoption 
of  the  state  highway  system  (chapter  10,  Acts  of  191 8)  by  which  the 
maintenance  and  repair  of  an  extensive  mileage  of  main  trunk  highways 
has  been  assumed  entirely  by  the  state,  leaving  the  counties  to  concen- 
trate their  resources  on  other  roads.  Toll  collections  are  forbidden  by 
law  on  state  maintained  roads.  It  seems  safe  to  say  that  within  the  next 
five  years  Virginia  will  have  largely  rid  herself  of  tollgates,  and  tourists 
in  that  section  will  freely  ride  where  they  will. 


[412] 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


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[415] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

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[416] 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


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Daggett,  John 

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Drake 

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The  Town  of  Roxbury. 
Dwight,  Thomas 

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Earle,  Alice  Morce 

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English 

History  of  Bedford  (Mass.). 
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Felton,  William 

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[417] 


THE   TURNPIKES    OF    NEW    ENGLAND 

Fuller 

History  of  Warwick  (R.  I.). 
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Gage 

History  of  Rowley  (Mass.). 
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October  26,  1824. 
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February  11,  1803;  August  13,  1804;  December  28,  1804. 
Gibson,  Robert 

The  Theory  and  Practice  of  Surveying —  18 11. 
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History  of  Cornwall  (Conn.). 
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Goodwin 

East  Hartford  (Conn.),  History  and  Traditions. 
Granite  Monthly 

The  Fourth  New  Hampshire  Turnpike. 
Greenfield,  Town  of 

Circular  of  Claims  for  County  Seat. 
Grieve 

History  of  Pawtucket  (R.  I.). 
Griffin 

History  of  Keene  (N.  H.). 

Hadley,  Arthur  T. 

Railroad  Transportation. 
Hamilton,  Alexander 

Census  of  United  States  Manufactures —  1791. 
Harper's  Monthly 

The  White  Mountains  —  August,  1877. 

The  Old  National  Pike  —  November,  1879. 
Hayes 

History  of  Rockingham  (N.  H.). 
Highway  Commission,  Massachusetts 

Reports. 
Holland,  J.  G. 

History  of  Western  Massachusetts. 
HORREBOW 

Natural  History  of  Iceland. 

[418] 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Hoyt,  Ebenezer 

Survey  and  Map  of  the  Fifth  Massachusetts  Turnpike. 
Hudson. 

Memorial  History  of  Lexington  (Mass.). 
Hulbert,  A.  B. 

Historic  Highways  of  America. 
Huntington 

History  of  Stamford  (Conn.). 
Hurd,  Sarah  Elizabeth; 

Diary  of  a  Carriage  Journey  in  1829. 

Jenkins,  Stephen 

The  Old  Boston  Post  Road. 
Johnson,  S.  W. 

Rural  Economy. 
Journal,  New  York 

June  25,  1772. 

Kendall,  Francis  H. 

Turnpike  Roads  of  Middlesex  County. 
Kilbourne,  Frederick  W. 

Chronicles  of  the  White  Mountains. 
Kingman 

History  of  North  Bridgewater  (Brockton,  Mass.). 
Kingsford,  W. 

The  History,  Structure,  and  Statistics  of  Plank  Roads. 
Kittredge,  Professor  George  L. 

The  Old  Farmer  and  his  Almanack. 
Knight,  Madam  Sarah 

Journal  of  Journey  from  Boston  to  New  York  in  1704. 

Lambert 

History  of  the  Colony  of  New  Haven. 
Landis,  Charles  I. 

The  First  Long  Turnpike  in  the  United  States. 
Larned,  Miss  Ellen  M. 

History  of  Windham  County  (Conn.). 
Lemont 

Historical  Dates  of  Bath  (Maine). 
Lewis,  Alonzo 

History  of  Lynn  (Mass.). 
Lewis,  Isaac  Newton 

History  of  Walpole  (Mass.). 
Lewis,  J.  W,  and  Company 

History  of  Litchfield  County  (Conn.). 

[419] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

Lincoln 

History  of  Worcester  (Mass.). 
Lovejoy 

History  of  Royalton  (Vt.). 
Lowell  Historical  Society 

Proceedings. 
Lyford,  James  O. 

History  of  Concord  (N.  H.). 

MacGill,  Caroline  C. 

A  History  of  Transportation  in  the  United  States  before  i860. 
McClintock 

History  of  New  Hampshire. 
McMasters 

History  of  the  United  States. 
Marvin,  Abijah  P. 

History  of  Lancaster  (Mass.). 
Mathews 

History  of  Cornwall  (Vt.). 
Mead 

Ye  Historie  of  ye  Towne  of  Greenwich  ( Conn. ) . 
Medway,  Town's  History  of 
Melish,  John 

Travels  in  the  United  States  of  America. 
Metcalf 

Annals  of  Mendon  (Mass.). 
Musgrove 

History  of  Bristol  (N.  H.). 

Nash 

History  of  Weymouth  (Mass.). 
New  England  Magazine 

The  National  Pike  and  its  Memories  —  May,  1902. 

Turnpike  Roads  of  Middlesex  County  —  August,  1903. 
New  London  Historical  Society 

Fact  and  Reminiscence. 

Famous  Old  Taverns  of  New  London. 
News-Letter,  Boston 

April  4,  1720. 
News,  Salem 

The  Salem  Turnpike  —  January  15,  191 5. 
Niles,  John  M.,  and  John  C.  Pease 

A  Gazetteer  of  the  States  of  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut. 
North 

History  of  Augusta  (Maine). 
[420] 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Old  Farmer's  Almanac —  1802 
Orcutt,  William  Dana 

Good  Old  Dorchester. 
Orcutt,  Samuel 

History  of  New  Milford  (Conn.). 

History  of  Torrington  (Conn.). 

History  of  Wolcott  (Conn.). 

Parker 

History  of  Arlington  (Mass.). 
Parmenter 

History  of  Pelham  (Mass.). 
Patriot,  Quincy —  1864 
Pease,  John  C,  and  John  M.  Niles 

A  Gazetteer  of  the  States  of  Rhode  Island  and  Connecticut. 
Perry,  Miss 

History  of  Gloucester  (R.  I.). 
Porter,  Badger  and 

Stage  Register. 
Pratt,  Edwin  A. 

A  History  of  Inland  Transport  and  Communication  in  England. 

Quincy,  Josiah 

Read,  Charles  F. 

Milestones  in  and  near  Boston. 
Reed,  Parker  McCobb 

History  of  Bath  (Maine). 
Reed,  Jonas 

History  of  the  Town  of  Rutland  (Mass.). 
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August  29,  1803. 
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Development  of  Transportation  Systems  in  the  United  States. 
Robinson 

History  of  Camden  and  Rockport  (Maine). 
Rutland  (Vt.)  Herald 

January,  19 14. 


Saunderson 

History  of  Charlestown  (N.  H.). 
Scott,  Sir  Walter 

Description  of  Old-time  Stages. 

[421] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

Sharpe 

History  of  Seymour  (Conn.). 
Sharpe,  Bassett,  and  Campbell 

Seymour  Past  and  Present  (Conn.). 
Sheldon,  Temple  and 

History  of  Northfield  (Mass.). 
Shirley,  John  M. 

The  Fourth  New  Hampshire  Turnpike. 
Skeat,  W.  W. 

Etymological  Dictionary  of  the  English  Language. 
Smith,  S.  F. 

History  of  Newton  (Mass.). 
Smith,  J.  E.  A. 

History  of  Pittsfield  (Mass.). 
Somers,  Reverend  A.  N. 

History  of  Lancaster  (N.  H.). 
Sparks,  Jared 

Life  of  Washington. 
State  Street  Trust  Company 

Boston's  Growth. 
Stearns 

History  of  Ashburnham   (Mass.). 
Steere 

History  of  Smithfield  (R.  I.). 
Steiner 

History  of  Guilford  and  Madison  (Conn.). 
Stone,  Edwin  M. 

History  of  Beverly  (Mass.). 
Stone,  Richmond 

United  States  Department  of  Agriculture  Bulletin  Number  17. 
Straus,  Ralph 

Coaches  and  Carriages. 
Stratton 

The  World  on  Wheels. 


Teele 

History  of  Milton  (Mass.). 
Temple 

History  of  Palmer  (Mass.). 
Temple  and  Sheldon 

History  of  Northfield  (Mass.). 
Thomas,  Chauncey 

American  Carriage  and  Wagon  Works. 
Thomas,  R.  B. 

Old  Farmer's  Almanac. 
[422] 


BIBLIOGRAPHY 


Thompson,  Francis  M. 

History  of  Greenfield. 
Thompson,  Miss  Mary  P. 

Landmarks  in  Ancient  Dover  (N.  H.). 
Thrupp 

History  of  Coaches. 
Tilden 

History  of  Medfield  (Mass.). 
Tillinghast,  C.  B. 

Index  of  Senate  and  House  Members  (Mass.). 
Timlow 

History  of  Southington  (Conn.). 
Tracy 

History  of  Essex  County  (Mass.). 
Traveller,  Boston 

October  2,  1833. 
Tucker 

History  of  Hartford  (Vt). 
Twining,  Thomas 

Notes  and  Reminiscences  of  Travel  in  America. 

Wadleigh 

Notable  Events  in  the  History  of  Dover  (N.  H). 
Waldo,  S.  Putnam 

The  Tour  of  James  Monroe,  President  of  the  United  States  in  1 8 1 7. 
Wallace 

History  of  Canaan  (N.  H). 
Ward,  Andrew  H. 

History  of  Shrewsbury   (Mass.) — 1826. 
Watrous,  George  H. 

History  of  New  Haven  (Conn.). 
Wells 

History  of  Ryegate  (Vt. ). 
Weston 

History  of  Middleboro  (Mass.). 
Wheeler,  George  Augustus 

History  of  Brunswick  (Maine). 
Wheeler,  Richard  Anson 

History  of  Stonington  (Conn.). 
Whipple 

Geological  View  of  the  District  of  Maine —  1816. 
Willard 

History  of  Lancaster  (Mass.). 
Wilson,  Samuel  M. 

The  Maysville  Pike. 

[423] 


THE  TURNPIKES  OF  NEW  ENGLAND 

WlTMER,  A.  E. 

The  Old  Turnpike. 
Wood,  Sumner  Gilbert 

Taverns  and  Turnpikes  of  Blandford  (Mass.). 
Woodbury,  C.  H.  J. 

The  Floating  Bridge  on  the  Salem  Turnpike. 


[424] 


INDEX 


INDEX 

References  in  heavy  type  indicate  special  articles  on  the  roads  mentioned 


Abandoned  section  of  Middle- 
sex Turnpike,  155,  156 
Union  Turnpike,  136 

Abattoir,  Brighton,  194 

Abbott,  Downing,  and  Co., 
builders  of  Concord 
coaches,  49 

Aberdeen,  Ohio,  23 

Abington,  Mass.,  131 

Aborn  Street,  Providence, 
R.  I.,  3°9 

Academy,  Weston,  Conn., 
401 

Accident  on  Dorchester  Turn- 
pike, 142 
Hingham  and  Quincy  Turn- 
pike, 179 
Mount    Washington    Sum- 
mit Road,  240 

Act  for  relief  of  Plum  Island 
Bridge  and  Turnpike  Co., 
160 

Acton,  Mass.,  176 

Acushnet  River  (Mass.),  137, 
182 

Adams,  Mass.,  66 

Adams  Ferry  (see  Hiern's 
Ferry) 

Adams,  Gov.  Samuel,  63 
John  Quincy,  23 

Adams,  Mount,  240 

Adams,  Mrs.  John,  diary  of, 
178 

Adams     Street,     Dorchester, 
Mass.,  103,  207 
Milton,  Mass.,  147 
Williamstown,  Mass.,  67 
East  Milton,  Mass.,  207 

Agawam,  Mass.,  187 

Aiken's  Bridge  (N.  H.), 
223 

Air  Line  Division,  N.  Y., 
N.  H.  &  H.  R.  R.,  382 

Albany,     N.     H.,     237,     245, 
247 
N.  Y.,  25,  51,  67,  76,  79,  80, 
166,    181,    204,    345,    348, 
355,  358,  365,  388 
fare  from  Boston,  52 
railroad  from  Boston,  200 

Albany  Street,  West  Stock- 
bridge,  Mass.,  167 

Aldie,  Va.,  8 

Aldrich,  Elisha,  house  of,  314 
Richard,  tavern  of,  297 


Alewife  Brook,  Cambridge, 
Mass.,  120 

Alexandria,  Va.,  7,  17 

Alford,  Mass.,  79,  168, 
186 

Alford  and  Egremont  Turn- 
pike  (Mass.),  168,  191 

Alford  and  West  Stockbridge 
Turnpike  Corp.  (Mass.), 
175,  191 

Allegheny  Mountains,  17 

Allen  Road,  Attleboro,  Mass., 
90 

Allum  Pond  (R.  I.),  307 

Allum  Pond  Hill  (R.  I.), 
301 

Almshouse,  Will  im  an  tic, 
Conn.,  354 

Almy  and  Brown,  cotton  fac- 
tory, 299 

Alpine  Garden,  White  Moun- 
tains, 237,  240 

Alpine  House,  Gorham,  N.  H, 
238 

Alstead,  N.  H.,  232 

Alterations  in  Pontoosac 
account  of  railroad, 
201 

American  Thread  Co.,  382 

Ames,  Fisher,  88,  89 

Oliver,    Sr.,   beginnings   of 
shovel  factory,  37 

Ames  Shovel  Factory,  37 

Amesbury,  Mass.,  fare  from 
Boston,  52 

Amherst,  N.  H.,  155,  219 
Mass.,  71 

Amherst  Turnpike  (N.  H.), 
154,  236 

Ammidon,  Philip,  75 

Andover,  Conn.,  407 
Mass.,  129,  149 
N.  H.,  231,  222,  230 

Andover  Bridge,  Mass.,  128, 
130,  231 

Andover  Street,  Danvers, 
Mass.,  124,  129 

Andover  Turnpike  (N.  H.), 
248 

Andover  and  Medford  Turn- 
pike (Mass.),  128,  129, 
149,  266 

Androscoggin  Valley,  238 

Angell,  Fenner,  landowner, 
308 


Anthony,  R.  I.,  310,  311 
Anthony.    Daniel,     surveyor, 

319 

Earle  B.,  store  of,  326 
William,  petitioner,  298 
Antrim,  N.  H.,  219 
Appalachian   Mountain   Club, 

238 
Appeal  to  legislature  by  Mid- 
dlesex Turnpike  Co.,  152, 

153- 
Appeal  to  supreme  court  by 

Hingham     and     Quincy, 

181 
Appius  Claudius  Caecus,  road 

of,  314 
Appleby's    Road,    Smithfield, 

R.  I.,  307 

Apponaug,  R.  I.,  311 
Apponegansett,  Mass.,  182 
April  19,  1775,  123,  153 
Ap  thorp,     John     T.,     119, 

120 
Arch     in     Brookline,     Mass., 

164 
Arlington,  Mass.,  52,  151,  152, 

153,  155 
Arlington  Heights,  Mass.,  151, 

155,  183 
Arnold's  invasion  of  Canada, 

264 
Arnold,   Simon   H,   diligence 

Providence  to  Pawtucket, 

305 
Thomas,  landowner,  322 
Arsenal  at  Willimantic,  Conn., 

383 
Arsenal    Street,    Watertown, 

Mass.,  196 
Ashburnham,  Mass.,  71,   131, 

157,  176 
Ashby,  Mass.,  157,  176,  256 

gate  in,  158 
Ashby      Turnpike      (Mass.), 

157 
Ashford,  Conn.,  75,  140,  194, 

295,    342,    343,    378,    381, 

383 
Ashuelot     Turnpike,      131, 

234 
Ashmont,  Mass.,  142 
Assonet,  Mass.,  137 
Assonet  Bay   (Mass.),  303 
Asylum      Street,      Hartford, 

Conn.,  360,  361 

[427] 


INDEX 


Athol,  Mass.,  69,  70,  133 
Atlantic,  Mass.,  208 
Atlantic    and    St.    Lawrence 

Railroad,  238 
Attleboro,  Mass.,  87,  100,  170, 

tavern  in,  88 
Attorney-general    of    Maine, 

no 


Atwells  Avenue,   Providence, 

R.  I.,  309,  310 
Atwood,  Caleb,  tavern  of,  311 
George    B.,    bar    room    of, 

202 
Auburn,  N.  H.,  231 
Augusta,  Maine,  106,  1 14, 127, 

130,  227 


Augusta  County,  Va.,  erected 
tollgates  to  provide  for 
maintenance  of  roads, 
411 
road  building  since  1907, 
411 

Avenue      Street,      Brighton, 
Mass.,  194 


Babcock,  I.,  Jr.,  store  of,  207 

Joseph,  137 
Babcock  Pond,  Conn.,  382 
Babylon,  4 
Back  Bay,  Boston,  Mass.,  188 

filling  of,  191 

nuisance  of,  191 

water  power  from,  188 
Back  River,  Weymouth,  Mass., 

177.  178 
Bacon   Academy,   Colchester, 

Conn.,  375 
Backus'  Ironworks,  Norwich, 

Conn.,  375 
Badger  and  Porter,  51 
Bailey,     Captain,    contractor, 

64,  351 
Baker,  Captain  George,  house 

of,  313,  314 
Bakers   River    (N.   H.),   223, 

233,  244 
Bakersfield     and     Waterville 

Turnpike     Corp.     (Vt.), 

284 
Batch's  freight  wagons,  221 
Baldwin,    Captain     Benjamin 

P.,  surveyor,  233 
Baldwin's  map  of  railroad  to 

Albany,  199 
Baldwin's    Mills,    Templeton, 

Mass.,  157,  235 
Baldwinsville,  Mass.,  157 
Baltimore,  Md.,  8,  17 
Baltimore  Gate,  9 
Baltimore,   Liberty,   and   Ha- 

gerstown  Turnpike  Road 

Co.,  20 
Baltimore  and  Ohio  Railway, 

22,  23 
Bank    Street,    New    London, 

Conn.,  379 
Banks  of  Maryland,  20,  21 
Barden  Reservoir,  R.  I.,  314 
Bardsley's  Corner,  Conn.,  356 
Barkhamsted,  Conn.,  355,  378, 

394 
Barnet,  Vt.,  230,  269,  271 
Barre,  Mass.,  69,  192 
Barre  Turnpike  (Mass.),  192 
Barre  Turnpike  Corp.   (Vt.), 

283 
Barrett,  Daniel,  104,  105 
Barricade    against    sortie    by 

British      from      Boston, 

207 
Barrington,  N.  H.,  217 
R.  I.,  206,  324 

[428] 


B 

Bar  room  of  George  B.  At- 
wood, Taunton,  Mass., 
202 

Barrows,  Captain,  house  of, 
356 

Barrows,  Milton,  98 

Barrows'  Tavern,  South  At- 
tleboro, Mass.,  98 

Bartlett,  N.  H.,  223,  245 

Bartlett,  Robert,  devised  to 
New  London's  poor,  390 

Bartlett  Street,  Boston,  89,  94 

Bateman,    Jonas,    landowner, 

135 
Bath,    Maine,    130,    144,    145, 

211 
N.  H.,  228 
Bath    Bridge    and    Turnpike 

(Maine),  144,  211 
Bath  Street,  Brunswick,  Maine, 

145 

Bath  Turnpike  Co.  (N.  H.), 
228 

Bay  Road,  Old,  to  Taunton, 
25,  148,  157,  171 

Bay  Street,  Fall  River,  Mass., 
325 
regarded  as  a  public  high- 
way, 326 

Bayley,  General  Jacob,  264 

Bayley-Hazen  Military  Road, 
249,  264 
object  of,  265 
route  for  settlers,  265 

Beach  Pond  (R.  I.),  306,  402 

Beacon  Brook    (Conn.),  337, 

395 
Beacon  Falls,  Conn.,  part  of 

old  Derby,  337 
Beacon  Mountain,  Conn.,  340 
Beacon  Street,  Boston,  Mass., 

188,  189,  191 
Brighton,  Mass.,  194 
Somerville,  Mass.,  155 
Beal  Street,  Hingham,  Mass., 

181 
Bear's  Den,  Greenfield,  Mass., 

70 
Beattie    Farm,    Ryegate,   Vt., 

gate  on,  270 
Beaver  Brook,  Ware,  Mass., 

133 
"  Beaver    Brook    Turnpike " 

(Conn.),  386 
Beaver    Lake,    Ware,    Mass., 

133 
Becket,  Mass.,  74,  76,  78,  127, 


128,    176,    193,    199,    203, 

204 
Becket     Mountain     (Mass.), 

127 
Becket  Turnpike  (Mass.),  74, 

127,  176,  193,  199,  203,204 
Bedell,  Colonel,  264 
Bedford,  Mass.,  121,  141,  151, 

152 
Penn.,  16 
Bedford   Street,   Middleboro, 

Mass.,  132 
Bedford,  taverns  in,  156 
Beebe,  Amasa,  landowner,  383 
Belden's     Bridge,     Norwalk, 

Conn.,  338 
Belchcrtown,  Mass.,  in 
Belchertown    and   Greenwich 

Turnpike    (Mass.),    Ill, 

133 
Bellingham,  Mass.,  75,  76,  138 
Bellows    Falls,    Vt,    78,    131, 

219,  220,  254,  256,  259 
Bellows  Falls  bridge,  220,  255, 

350 
Bellows,   John,    for   land   on 

Mount  Washington,  239 
Bellwater  Plank  Road  Corp. 

(Vt),  280 
Belmont,  Mass.,  120,  122 
Belmont     Street,     Westboro 

and  Worcester,  Mass.,  166 
Belmont  town  hall,  122 
Bennett's    Bridge,    Newtown, 

Conn.,  404 
Bennett,  Wetherell  and,  omni- 
bus line,  305 
Bennington,  Vt,   51,  69,  250, 

253.  279 
gate  in,  253 

Bennington  County,  Vt.,  pro- 
ceedings in,  277 

Bennington  Turnpike  Corp. 
(Vt),  269 

Benson,  Vt.,  267 

Benson  Turnpike  Corp.  (Vt), 
283 

Bergen  Point,  N.  J.,  41 

Berkley,  Mass.,  137 

Berkshires,  Mass.,  277 
rough  country,  199 

Berkshire  Bridge,  Conn.,  400 

Berkshire  County,  proceed- 
ings in,  66,  78,  79,  113, 
119,  127,  128,  166,  167, 
173-  175.  182,  186,  187, 
191,  193,  201 


INDEX 


Berkshire  County,  indifferent 

to    Pontoosac    Turnpike, 

200 
Berlin,  Conn.,  349 

Vt,  252 
Berwick     Lane,     Providence, 

R.  I-,  319 
Bethel,  Conn.,  339,  405 

Vt.,  257 
Bethel    to   Weston   Turnpike 

(Conn.),  339 
Bethlehem,  Mass.,  175 

N.  H.,  229 
Bethlehem   Junction,    N.   H., 

243 
Bethlehem     and     Tyringham 

Turnpike  (Mass.),  175 
Beverly,  Mass.,  114 

fare  from  Boston,  52 
Beverly  cotton  factory,  29 
Big  Conococheague  Creek,  20 
Bigelow  Hall,  East  Hartford, 

Conn.,  367 
Billerica,  Mass.,  141,  151,  152, 

Billerica  Branch  Boston  and 

Maine  Railroad,  155 
Billing's  Rocks,  Quincy,  Mass., 

101 
Bingham    Bridge,    Windham, 

Conn.,  353 
Birch  Intervale,  N.  H.,  237 
Black       Pond,       Woodstock, 

Conn.,  396 
Black  River,  Ludlow,  Vt.,  252 
Black  Rock  Harbor,  Conn.,  404 

description  of,  404 
Black   Rock   Road,   Fairfield, 

Conn.,  401 
Black     Rock     and     Weston 

Turnpike    (Conn.),    404, 

405 
Blackmore  Pond,  R.  I.,  317 
Blackstone  River  (R.  I.),  300, 

310,  323 
claimed  as  boundary,  303 
herring  runs,  305 
Blackwater    River    (N.    H.), 

235 

Blackwood  Road,  Meriden, 
Conn.,  386 

Blair,  contractor,  65 

Blake's  Furnace,  Brandon, 
Vt.,  279 

Blanchard,  Andrew,  115 

Blandford,  Mass.,  79,  184,  199, 
358 

Blandford  Center,  Mass.,  203, 
204 

Blandford  and  Russell  Turn- 
pike (Mass.),  146 

Blasting,  37 

Bloomfield,  Conn.,  358 

Blue    Hill    Avenue,    Boston, 

147 
Blue  Hill,  Milton,  Mass.,  146 
Blue  Hill  Turnpike   (Mass.), 
137,  142,  144,  171.  172 
estimate  of  earnings,  62 


Blue  Hills,  Mass.,  137 
Bluemont,  Va.,  7 
Blue  Ridge  Mountains,  15,  17 
Board  runner  sleighs,  49 
Boardman's     Bridge,     Conn., 

389 
Boies'    Mills,    Milton,    Mass., 

146 
Boise,   Enos   W.,   town   clerk 

of  Blandford,  205 
Bolton,  Conn.,   140,   141,  342, 

343,  407 
Mass.,  169 

1830,  map  of,  169 

Bolton  Notch,  Conn.,  140, 
342,  343-  407 

Bomoseen,  Vt.,  259 

Boonesboro,  Md.,  17,  20 

Boonesboro  Turnpike  Co.,  21 

Boscawen,  N.  H.,  220 

Boston,  15,  25,  27,  50,  S3,  62, 
63.  64,  67,  75,  76,  80,  95, 
99,  100,  103,  114,  115,  117, 
120,  121,  125,  129,  131, 
138,  141,  142,  144,  148, 
155,  157,  159,  161,  162, 
163,  169,  170,  172,  175, 
183,  185,  189,  190,  193, 
194,  195,  197,  206,  219, 
231,  256,  263,  273,  275, 
276,  292,  306,  316,  325, 
331,  336,  343,  362,  363, 
367,  389,  39i,  396,  399 

Boston,  railroads  to  Provi- 
dence and  Albany,  200 

Boston,  Concord,  and  Mon- 
treal Railroad,  242 

Boston  Elevated  Railway,  94 
115,  160 

Boston  Free  Bridge  Corp., 
142 

Boston  Neck,  27,  160,  189, 
193-  343 

Boston  Neck  Turnpike  Corp. 
(Mass.),  163,  184 

Boston  South  Bridge,  141 

Boston,  tavern  in,  88 

Boston  town  house,  147,  160 

Boston  Turnpike  (Conn.), 
138,  140,  29s,  338,  342, 
353,  354,  356,  363,  367, 
373,  377,  378,  382,  383 

Boston  Water  Power  Co.,  190 

Boston  and  Albany  Railroad, 
74,  201 

Boston  and  Hartford  Tele- 
graph Line,  195,  396 

Boston  and  Haverhill  Turn- 
pike Corp.  (Mass.),  127, 
128 

Boston  and  Lowell  Railroad, 
157,  208 

Boston  and  Maine  Railroad, 
126,  155,  266 

Boston  and  Montreal  Turn- 
pike Corp.  (Vt.),  263 

Boston  and  Providence  Rail- 
road, 92,  100,  185,  208, 
302,  322 


Boston  and  Roxbury  Mill 
Corp.,  163,  188,  195 

Boston  and  Worcester  Rail- 
road, 165,  208 

Boston  and  Worcester  Street 
Railway,  163,  166 

Bosworth,  David,  toll  gath- 
erer, 258 

Boulevard  —  Lowell  to 
Nashua,   156 

Boundary  —  Mass.  and  R.  I., 
95,  203,  303,  326 

Bow,  N.  H.,  231,  236 

Bowdoin  College,  144 

Bowdoin  Street,  Dorchester, 
Mass.,  207 

Boxboro,  Mass.,  134 

Boyden,  James,  toll  gatherer, 
99 

Boylston  Street,  Brookline 
and  Newton,  161,  166 

Bozrah,  Conn.,  338,  375,  398, 

399 
Brackett,  Lemuel,  clerk,  179 
Braddock's  Road,  18 
Braintree,  Mass.,  117,  176 
Braintree      and      Weymouth 

Turnpike     (Mass.),    103, 

115,  131 
Branch  Avenue,    Providence, 

R.  I.,  300 
Branch     Road     and     Bridge 

Turnpike    (N.   H.),    131, 

222 
Branch     Turnpike     (Conn.), 

404 
Branch  Turnpike   Co.    (Vt.), 

284 
Brandon,  Vt,  279 

fare  from  Boston,  52 
Brandywine  Creek  bridge,  13, 

16 
Brattleboro,  Vt.,  250,  253,  254 
first  settlements,  249 
gate  in,  253 
Bray,    Major    John,    robbed, 

"5 
Breakwater   in    Newburyport 

Harbor,  159 
Bream    Cove,    New    London, 

Conn.,  379 
Breed's  Island,  Lynn,  Mass., 

81,  86 
Breezy  Point,  Warren,  N,  H., 

244 
Breton,    William,    house   of, 

7i 
Bretton  Woods,  N.  H„  229 
Brick  oven  on  wheels,  221 
Brick    schoolhouse    in    Rox- 
bury, Mass.,  89 
Bridge,  Alford  and  Egremont 
Turnpike   (Mass.),  168 
first  at  Naugatuck,  Conn., 

340 
Hartford  to  East  Hartford, 

Conn.,  366 
at  Islehookset  Falls,  N.  H., 


231 


[429] 


INDEX 


Bridge    across    Lake    Quin- 

sigamond  (Mass.),  166 
over    North    Cove,    Essex, 

Conn.,  392 
at  Norwich  Landing,  Conn., 

402 
over     Quinebaug     River, 

Danielson,  Conn.,  397 
Salem  to  Beverly  (Mass.), 

85 
at  Saugatuck  River,  Conn., 

339 
Willimantic    River,    354 
Bridge     disaster,     Worcester 

Turnpike,  165 
Bridge  Street,  Concord,  N.  H., 
219 
Medfield,  Mass.,  140 
Weymouth,  Mass.,  181 
Bridgeport,    Conn.,   347,   364, 
365,    397,    398,    400,    403, 
404 
Bridgeport      and      Newtown 
Turnpike    (Conn.),    364, 
374,  397,  398,  404 
Bridges,     Boston     to     Cam- 
bridge, 197 
Connecticut     corporations' 

responsibility    for,   334 
Merrimac    River    (Mass.), 

85 
in  Windham,  Conn.,  353 
Bridge's      Bridge,      Dresden, 

Maine,  114 
Bridgewater,  Mass.,  131,  132, 
171,  172,  182 
N.  H.,  226 
Vt,  272,  279 
Bridport,  Vt.,  267 
Bridport  Turnpike  Co.  (Vt.), 

283 
Briggsville,  Mass.,  205 
Brighton,  Mass.,  194,  196 
accepted    tender    of    Han- 
cock Free  Bridge  Corp., 

197 
Brighton    Avenue,    Brighton, 

Mass.,  194 
Bristol,  Conn.,  351,  360,  374, 
375 
N.  H.,  226 
Penn.,  16 


Bristol,  R.  I.,  25,  206 

fare  from  Boston,  52 
Bristol  County  (Mass.),  pro- 
ceedings    in,     118,      171, 
172 
Bristol     Ferry     (R.    I.),    51, 

298 
British  officers  at  Punch  Bowl 

Tavern,  162 
British  Royal  Mail,  260 
British  soldiers,  123,  153 
British  supply  train,  153 
Broad  Street,  Meriden,  Conn., 
35o 
New  London,  Conn.,  359 
Pawtucket,  R.  I.,  310 
Providence,  R.  I.,  292,  315, 
318 
Broadway,  Cambridge,  Mass., 
121,  122 
Chelsea,  Mass.,  86 
Chelsea,  Revere,  and  Sau- 

gus,  Mass.,  81 
Lawrence,  Mass.,  129 
Pawtucket,  R.  I.,  95 
Raynham      and     Taunton, 
Mass.,  172 
Brockton,  Mass.,  138 
Brookfield,    Conn.,    365,    405, 
406 
Mass.,  51,  182 
Vt,  252,  260 
Brookfield     and     Charlton 
Turnpike  Corp.  (Mass.), 
182,  301 
Brookfield    Road,    Newtown, 

Conn.,  405 
Brookline,    Mass.,     160,     162, 

185,  188,  203 
Brookline  Avenue,  Brookline, 

Mass.,  189,  190 
Brookline  Village,  Mass.,  160, 

161,  164 
Brooklyn,  Conn.,  362,  397 
Broome,  H.  G.,  stage  driver, 

360 
Brown,  John  and  Philip,  301 

Philip,  house  of,  302 
Brown's  Ferry,  Maine,  145 
Browning,  Ephraim,  house  of, 

356 
Brownsville,  Penn.,  17 


Brunswick,    Maine,    114,    130, 

144,  145,  211 
N.  J.,  is 
Brush  Hill  Turnpike  (Mass.), 

146,  157,  169,  171,  175 
Buckland's  Corner,  Conn.,  366 
Buckler,  tavern  keeper,  344 
Buckley  brook,  66 
Buffum's       Corner,       Salem, 

Mass.,  81 
Bugbee's  Tavern,  147 
"  Buisket    Bridge    in    Tyngs- 

bury,"  151 
Bull's    Bridge,    Kent,    Conn., 

369 
Bull's    tavern    in    Hartford, 

Conn.,  344 
Bundy's  Hill,  Lisbon,  Conn., 

337 
Bunker,  captain  of  steamboat, 

390 
Bunker  Hill,  battle  of,  155 
Bunker  Hill,  Conn.,  372 
Bunker  Hill  Monument.  206 
Burbank  Road,  Somers,  Conn., 

399,  400 
Burgess,  Thomas,  state  turn- 
pike agent,  303 
Burke  Hollow,  Vt.,  278 
Burke    Turnpike    Co.    (Vt.), 

278 
Burlington,  Conn.,  351,  360 
Mass.,  152,  155 
Vt.,  249,  257,  268 

fare  from  Boston,  52 
Burlington  College,  Vt.,  268 
Burlington      Turnpike      Co. 

(Vt.),  283 
Burrillville      Turnpike      Co. 

(R.  L),  312 
Burnham's      carriage      shop, 

Willimantic,  Conn.,  383 
Burnside,  Conn.,  343 
Burnside  Avenue,  East  Hart- 
ford, Conn.,  343,  366,  367 
Burrall's  Bridge,  Conn.,  364 
Burrillville,    R.    I.,    299,    300, 

312 
Butters      Corner,      Concord, 

N.  H.,  231 
Byram     River     (Conn,     and 

N.  Y.),  339,  376 


Cabot,  Vt,  264 

Cadwell,  Thomas,   ferryman, 

342 
Caledonia  County,  Vt,  260 

settled  by  Scotch,  271 
Caledonia  Turnpike  Co.  ( Vt.) , 

283 
Calves  Island,  Conn.,  380 
Cambridge,    Mass.,    119,    151, 
155,    189,    195,    196,    197, 
236 
fare  from  Boston,  52 
Vt,  282 

[430] 


Cambridge,    Mass.,    assumed 

road    of    Hancock    Free 

Bridge  Corp.,  197 
Cambridge    Common,    Mass., 

119,  120,  122 
Cambridge-Mount    Mansfield 

Turnpike  Co.  (Vt.),  282 
Cambridge     Road      (Mass.), 

160,  185 
"Cambridge     Turnpike" 

(Mass.),   122 
Cambridge  waterworks,  123 
Cambridge  and  Concord  Turn- 


pike    (Mass.),    52,    119, 

127,    133,    134,    146,    151, 

152,  169,  176 
Cambridge      to      Watertown 

Turnpike  (Mass.),  195 
Cambridgeport,     Mass.,     122, 

195 
Camden,  Maine,  104,  105 
Camden  Harbor,  Maine,  104 
Camden    Turnpike    (Maine), 

104,  211 
Canaan,  Conn.,  354,  355,  364, 

375,  379,  409 


INDEX 


Canaan,  Maine,  104 
N.  H.,  invested  in  Grafton 
Turnpike,  230 
Canaan  and  Litchfield  Turn- 
pike (Conn.),  354,  364 
Canada,  Arnold's  invasion  of, 

264 
Canada,   invasion   planned   in 

1778,  265 
Canal,  Chesapeake  and  Dela- 
ware, 22 
Chesapeake  and  Ohio,  22 
Dismal  Swamp,  22 
Louisville,  22 
Portland,  22 
Canal  at  Bellows  Falls,  Vt., 

255 
Canals,    Commissioners   of, 

Pennsylvania,  36 
Canals  and  Locks  of  Lowell, 

Mass.,  156 
Canastoga  Valley,  11 
Canobie  Lake,  N.  H.,  231 
Canterbury,   Conn.,  352,  353, 

354,  362 
Canterbury     Street,     Boston, 

Mass.,  149 
Canton,  Conn.,  361,  362 

Mass.,  148,  149,  157,  171 
Cape  Cod,  Mass.,  115 
Cape  Road  (Mass.),  98 
Capital,  Boston  and  Roxbury 
Mill  Corp.,  188 
Boston  Turnpike   (Conn.), 

342 
Danbury,  Redding,  Weston 
andWestport  Plank  Road 
Co.  (Conn.),  408 
Derby     Turnpike     Co. 

(Conn.),  347 
Durham  and  East  Guilford 

Turnpike  (Conn.),  385 
Fifth  Mass.  Turnpike,  69 
Newburyport     Turnpike 

(Mass.),  126 
Norfolk  and  Bristol  Turn- 
pike (Mass.),  88 
Shetucket        Turnpike 

(Conn.),  402 
Worcester       Turnpike 
(Mass.),  161 
Captives,  French  and  Indian 

War,  263 
Carmel,  Maine,  106 
Carriages,  43 
Carriage  manufacturing,  1795, 

95 

Carrington's  tavern,  Walling- 

ford,  Conn.,  350 
Carts,  37,  43 
Castleman's  Ferry,  7 
Castleton,  Vt.,  259 
Catholic  Oak,  Lonsdale,  R.  I., 

310 
Cattle,   accident   on   Floating 

Bridge,  85 
Causeway,  Hampton,  234 
Cavendish.  Vt.,  263 
Cavis,  C.  H.  V.,  engineer,  240 


Cedar   Hill   Street,   Medfield, 

Mass.,  138 
Cedar  swamps  of  Mass.,  172 
Cemetery,     oldest,     in     New 

England,  207 
at    Salem     Bridge,    Conn., 

366 
Spring    Grove,    Noroton, 

Conn.,  377 
Stamford,  Conn.,  Turnpike 

built  through,  376 
Census,  manufactures  in  1791, 

29 
Center      Avenue,      Belmont, 

Mass.,  122 
Center   Pond,   Becket,  Mass., 

127 
Center    Street,    Bath,    Maine, 

145 
Newton,  Mass.,  163 
Center  Turnpike  Co.  (Conn.), 

194,  396 
Center  Turnpike    (Vt.),  257, 

258,  263,  267,  272 
Centerdale,  R.  I.,  307 
Centerville,  Conn.,  358 

R.  I.,  317 
Central  Falls,  R.  I.,  310,  323 
Central  Square,  Keene,  N.  H., 

220 
Central      Street,      Wellesley, 

Mass.,  195 
Central     Turnpike     (Mass.), 

183,  194,  396 
Central  Turnpike  (R.  I.),  314 
Central     Vermont     Railway, 

253,  335,  343,  356,  396 
Cepatchit  Bridge,  R.  I.,  290 
Chain     Bridge',    Washington, 

D.  C,  18 
Chaise,  45 
Chaises,  post,  44 
Champlain,    Lake,    224,    225, 

229,  .256,  260,  261,  273 
route  to  Canada,  264 
Chandler  Ridge,  Mount  Wash- 
ington, 240 
Chapin,  Oliver,  tavern  of,  69 
Chariot,  46 
Chariots,  war,  43 
Charlemont,  Mass.,  66,  205 
Charles  II,  4,  411 

charter  of  Rhode  Island, 303 
Charles-gate,    Boston,    Mass., 

191 
Charles  River,  99,  161,  193 
Charles  River  Bridge,  81 
Charles  Street,  Boston,  Mass., 

188,  189 
Providence,  R.  I.,  301 
Charlestown,   Mass.,  81,    115, 

129,  206 
N.  H.,  232 
Charlestown   Ferry    (Mass.), 

125 
Charlestown    Pond,   R.   I., 

315 
Charlestown  Square,  Charles- 
town, Mass.,  84,  85 


Charlestown       Turnpike 

(N.  H.),  248 
Charlton,  Mass.,  159 
Charlton  City,  Mass.,  158 

gate  in,  158 
Chatham,  Conn.,  368,  382 
Chatham  and  Marlboro  Turn- 
pike (Conn.),  384 
Chaubunagungamaug,      Lake 

(Mass.),   198 
Cheever's  Hill,  Chelsea,  Mass., 

81 
Chelmsford,  Mass.,   151,   152, 

156 
fare  from  Boston,  52 
Chelsea,  Mass.,  85 

Vt.  260,  274 
Chelsea   Bridge    (Mass.),  81, 

86,  123,  124 
Chelsea   Street,   Charlestown, 

Mass.,  81 
Chelsea    Beach    and    Saugus 

Bridge  Turnpike  (Mass.), 

209 
Chelsea  Turnpike  Co.   (Vt.), 

283 
Cherokee  Lands,  10 
Cherry      Mountain,      White 

Mountains,  238 
Chesapeake     and      Shannon, 

naval  battle,  81 
Cheshire,  Conn.,  357,  388,  406, 

409 
Mass.,  149,  206 

Cheshire  Branch  Boston  and 
Maine  Railroad,  131 

Cheshire  Bridge  (N.  H.),232, 
259 

Cheshire  Railroad,  220,  222 

Cheshire  Road,  Cheshire, 
Conn.,  409 

Cheshire  Turnpike  (N.  H.), 
232 

Cheshire  Turnpike  (Conn.), 
357 

Chester,   Mass.,  74,   118,   119, 
193,  199.  201 
N.  H.,  232 
Vt,  273,  276 

fare  from  Boston,  52 

Chester,  east  meeting-house, 
N.  H.,  232 

Chester  Hill  Road,  Middle- 
field,  Mass.,  119 

Chester  Station,  Boston  and 
Albany  Railroad,  200 

Chester  Turnpike  (Mass.), 
118,  128,  199 

Chester  Turnpike  (1822), 
(Mass.),  119,  193 

Chester  Turnpike  (N.  H.), 
232 

Chester  and  North  Killing- 
worth  Turnpike  (Conn.), 
388,  405,  407 

Chester  and  North  Killing- 
worth  Second  Turnpike 
(Conn.),  388,  405,  407 

Chesterfield,  Conn.,  359 

[431] 


INDEX 


Chesterfield  Turnpike(N.H.), 

248 
Chestnut  Hill,  Perm.,  16 
Chestnut-Oak  Hill,  R.  I.,  297 
Chepachet  Bridge,  R.  I.,  297, 

314 

Chepachet  Route,  Providence 
Street  Railway,  R.  I.,  308 

Chichester,  N.  H.,  217 

Chicopee  River,  65 

Child  Hill,  Woodstock,  Conn., 
396 

Child's  Tavern,  Wilmington, 
Vt.,  254 

Chillicothe,  Ohio,  23 

Chin,  Mount  Mansfield,  Vt., 
282 

"Chittendon  Turnpike" 
(Vt.),   268 

Chittendon,  Governor,  268 

Chocorua  Mountain,  N.  H., 
247 

Chocorua  Mountain  Turn- 
pike (N.  H.),  247 

Chopmist,  R.  I.,  313 

Church  Corner,  East  Hart- 
ford, Conn.,  367 

Church  Street,  Guilford  Green, 
Conn.,  393 
New  Haven,  Conn.,  351 
Pawtucket,  R.  I.,  322,  323 

Churchville  Road,  Augusta 
County,  Va.,  operations 
in  1918,  412 

Chusetown,    Conn.,   337,   348, 

37i.  395 
Circumferentor,  38 
Cities,  five  in  Connecticut  in- 
corporated 1784,  338 
Citizens'  Coach  Co.,  09 
Citizens'  Line  stages,  99 
City     Square,     Charlestown, 

Mass.,  81 
Clam     River,     Sandisfield, 

Mass.,  209 
Clam    River   Turnpike   Corp. 

(Mass.),  186,  209 
Claremont,   N.   H.,    129,    15s, 

219,  236 
Clarendon,  Vt,  252,  254 
Clark,  Peter,  director,  120 
Clark's    tavern    in    Ashford, 

Conn.,  344 
Clark  and  Gray's  paper  mill, 
Willimantic,     Conn., 
382 
Clarksburg,  Mass.,  205 
Clay,  Henry,  19 
Clear  Spring.  Md.,  20 
Cliftondale,  Mass.,  124 
Cliffwood       Street,      Lenox, 

Mass.,  78 
Clinton,  Maine,  106 
Coaches,  see  Stages 
Coast  Path  (Mass.),  25 
Coates,  Ezra,  owner  of  apple- 
tree,  137 
Coatesville,  Penn.,  14 
Cobb,  Rev.  Alvan,  203 

[432] 


Cobb,  Pennyroyal,  tavern  of, 

98 
Cochituate,     Lake     (Mass.), 

161 
Cohasset,  Mass.,  lis 
Cohos    Road    (N.    H.),    226, 

227,  249 
Cobalt,  Conn.,  382 
Colburn,  Gen.  James,  134 
Colchester,    Conn.,    359,    360, 

368,375,381,38s 
Vt.,  272 

Colchester  Center,  Conn.,  382 

Colchester  and  Chatham  Turn- 
pike (Conn.),  381 

Colchester  and  Norwich  Turn- 
pike (Conn.),  375 

Cold   Brook,   Florida,   Mass., 
205,  206 

Cold  Spring  Landing,  N.  Y., 
388 

Colebrook,    Conn.,    355,    365, 
378,  387,  394 

Coleman,  Rev.  Henry,  aid  of, 
solicited,  178 

College  Hill,  Providence,  R.  I., 
322 

Collins    Pond,    Lynn,    Mass., 

?S 
Collins'  Tavern,  Straits,  Conn., 

340 
Colonial  Inn,  Concord,  Mass., 

176 
Columbia,  Conn.,  383,  407 

Penn.,  16 
Columbia  Green,  Conn.,  383 
Columbia  Turnpike   (Conn.), 

382 
Commissioner  '  of     turnpikes 

(R.  I.),  289 
Commonwealth  of  Mass.,  Mill 

Dam  to  be  conveyed  to, 

190 
Commonwealth  Avenue,  Bos- 
ton, Mass.,  104 
Commonwealth   Flats,   South 

Boston,  Mass.,  141 
Commuted  tolls,  94,  126 
Companies'  Clauses  Consolida- 
tion Act  (Great  Britain),  31 
Compass,  38 
Concert  Hall,  Boston,  Mass., 

161 
Conestoga  River  bridge,  16 
Conestoga  wagons,  50 
Concord,  Mass.,  119,  120,  131, 

122,  123,  133,  176 
fare  from  Boston,  52 
Concord,  N.  H.,  129,  150,  217, 

227,  229,  231 
fare  from  Boston,  52 
voted  to  purchase  turnpike, 

218 
Concord     Avenue,     Belmont, 

Mass.,  123 
Cambridge.  Mass.,  122 
Concord     Bridge,     Concord, 

N.  H.,  217,  219 
Concord  coach,  49 


Concord  Common,  Mass.,  123, 

134 
Concord  River  (Mass.),  155 
Concord  and  Montreal  R.  R., 

233,  243,  265 
Conditions  imposed  on  draw- 
bridges, 177 
Connecticut,    compilation    of 
special  laws,  347 
density  of  population,  331 
early    public-service   com- 
missions, 34 
franchises  perpetual,  333 
Revised  Statutes,  1835,  333 
steamboat,  390 
turnpikes  in,  14 
Connecticut   and    Passumpsic 
Rivers  Railroad,  271,  282 
Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island 
Turnpike     (Conn.),    295, 

343 
Connecticut  Path  (Mass.),  25, 

158,  160 
Connecticut  Post  Road  (Vt.), 

249,  254,  256,  258,  265 
Connecticut    River,    69,    141, 

223,    225,    228,    229,    230, 

232,    235,    260,    261,    263, 

269,    310,    338,    342,    366, 

368,    369,    379,    382,    384, 

388,  391 
post  road  along,  249 
Connecticut  River  Steamboat 

Co.,  380 
Connecticut    River    Turnpike 

(Vt.),  258,  274 
Connecticut     River     Village, 

Conn.,  380 
Connecticut    River    water 

route,  133 
Connecticut     Turnpike      Co. 

(Conn.),  336,  340,  376 
Connecticut    Valley,    66,    155, 

176,  192 
Connecticut    Valley    Lumber 

Co.,  229 
Connecticut  Valley  route  from 

Coos,  N.  H.,  233 
Connecticut  Valley  Railroad, 

369 

Connecticut  and  Rhode  Island 
Turnpike  (Conn.),  377 

Constitutionality  of  Mount 
Washington  Road  at- 
tacked, 239 

Continental  troops,  155 

Contract,  First  Massachusetts 
Turnpike,  64,  65 
Hartford  and  New  Haven 

Turnpike  (Conn.),  351 
Norfolk  and  Bristol  Turn- 
pike  (Mass.),  90 
Sixth  Massachusetts  Turn- 
pike, 73 

Controversy  over  location 
of  Middlesex  Turnpike 
(Mass.),  152 

Cook's  Corner,  Maine,  144, 
145 


INDEX 


Cook,     Parley,     landowner, 

118 
Cook   Road,   Chester,   Mass., 

119 
Cook  Tavern,  Newton,  Mass., 

163 
Cooper's    Tavern,    Arlington, 

Mass.,  155 
Coos  County,  N.  H.,  inacces- 
sibility of,  223 
outlet  for,  233 
Coos  Turnpike  (N.  H.),  232 

266 
Coos     in     New     Hampshire 

Turnpike  Corp.,  248 
Copenhagen    (see   East   Bar- 
net,  Vt.) 
Corduroy  road,  Columbus  to 

Sandusky,  39 
Corduroy  roads,  38 
Cornish    Turnpike    (N.    H.), 

235 
Cornwall,  Conn.,  355,  372,  375. 

379,  383,  384,  387 
Vt.,  276 
Cornwall  Hollow,  Conn.,  355 
Cornwall     and     Washington 

Turnpike  (Conn.),  375 
Cornish,  N.  H.,  235 
Cornish  Bridge  (N.  H.),  235, 

256 
Corporations,  capital  stock,  33 
Connecticut,  331 
designation  of,  65 
formation,  57,  61 
formed    in    Massachusetts, 

65 

formed      in      District      of 
Maine,  65 

laws,  general,  31 

liability,  61 

limitations,  32 

Maine,  211 

management,  32 

New  Hampshire,  215 

powers,  32 

preliminaries    to    organiza- 
tion, 57 

Rhode  Island,  287 

rights    and    powers   of,    in 
Massachusetts,  57 

sole,  128,  366 

turnpike,  first  in  New  Eng- 
land, 287 

unpopularity,  32 

Vermont,  248 
Costs,  Alford  and  Egremont 
Turnpike  (Mass.),  168 

Andover      and      Medford 
Turnpike   (Mass.),  149 

Barre    Turnpike     (Mass.), 
192 

Bath  Bridge  and  Turnpike 
(Maine),  144 

Becket  Turnpike    (Mass.), 
127 

Belchertown     and     Green- 
wich  Turnpike    (Mass.), 


Blue  Hill  Turnpike  (Mass.), 

137 
Braintree    and    Weymouth 

Turnpike  (Mass.),  115 
Camden  Turnpike  (Maine), 

104 
Chelsea  Bridge  (Mass.),  84 
Chester  and  North  Killing- 
worth    Second   Turnpike 

(Conn.),  406 
Contract     price     on     First 

Massachusetts   Turnpike, 

64,  65 
Cornish    Bridge    (N.    H.), 

235 

Dorchester  Turnpike 
(Mass.),  142 

Douglas,  Sutton,  and  Ox- 
ford Turnpike  (Mass.), 
183       ' 

Durham  and  East  Guilford 
Turnpike  (Conn.),  385 

Essex  Turnpike  (Mass.), 
129 

Fairhaven  Turnpike 
(Conn.),  393 

Farmington  and  Bristol 
Turnpike   (Conn.),  360 

Floating  Bridge  on  Salem 
Turnpike  (Mass.),  85 

Gate  on  First  Cumberland 
Turnpike  (Maine),  no 

Granite  Bridge  (Mass.),  208 

Great  Barrington  and  Al- 
ford Turnpike  (Mass.), 
186 

Greenwoods  Turnpike 
(Conn.),  348 

Groton  and  Stonington 
Turnpike  (Conn.),  390 

Hartford  and  Dedham 
Turnpike  (Mass.),  140 

Hartford  and  New  Haven 
Turnpike  (Conn.),  351 

Hingham  and  Quincy  Turn- 
pike (Mass.),  178 

Housatonic  River  Turn- 
pike (Mass.),  167 

Hop  River  Turnpike 
(Conn.),  407 

Lancaster  and  Bolton  Turn- 
pike (Mass.),  169 

Fifth  Massachusetts  Turn- 
pike, 70 

Sixth  Massachusetts  Turn- 
pike, 73 

Ninth  Massachusetts  Turn- 
pike, 75 

Tenth  Massachusetts  Turn- 
pike, 78 

Twelfth  Massachusetts 
Turnpike,  80 

Fifteenth  Massachusetts 
Turnpike,  113 

New  Bedford  and  Bridge- 
water  Turnpike  (Mass.), 
132 

New  Hampshire  Turnpike, 
217 


Fourth      New     Hampshire 

Turnpike,  221 
Norfolk  and  Bristol  Turn- 
pike (Mass.),  90 
North     Branch     Turnpike 

(Mass.),  131 
Norwich    and    Woodstock 

Turnpike  (Conn.),  363 
Passumpsic  Turnpike  (Vt.), 

270 
Petersham      and      Monson 

Turnpike   (Mass.),  133 
Pettipauge     and     Guilford 

Turnpike  (Conn.),  389 
Plank  roads,  40 
Salem    Turnpike    (Mass.), 

81 
Saugatuck  Bridge  (Conn.), 

339 
Shetucket         Turnpike 

(Conn.),  402 
Taunton  and  South  Boston 

Turnpike  (Mass.),  173 
Taunton  and  South  Boston 

Turnpike  land,  172 
Transportation     on     turn- 
pikes, 36 
Union    Turnpike    (Mass.), 

134 
Worcester       Turnpike 

(Mass.),  161 
Worcester  and  Fitzwilliam 
Turnpike  (Mass.),  157 
Cotton     factory,     Smithfield, 
R.  I..  299 
Samuel  Slater's,  198 
County  commissioners  to  lay 

out  roads  in  Maine,  211 
County     road,     Harrington's 
to     "  the     Rocks,"     152, 
153 
Court  Street,  Dedham,  Mass., 
94 
Keene,  N.  H.,  220 
Cove,  Providence,  R.  I.,  299, 

322 
Coventry,  Conn.,  140,  338,  342, 
353,  354 
N.  H.,  228 

R.  I.,  292,  294,  296,  310 
Coventry   Mfg.   Co.    (R.  I.), 

3" 
Coventry    Turnpike    Co. 

(N.  H.),  227,  248 
Coventry  and  Cranston  Turn- 
pike (R.  I.),  310 
Craigie,  Andrew,  119 
Crane,   Elijah,   committee, 

170 
Crane     Pond,    West     Stock- 
bridge,  Mass.,  182 
Cranston,  R.  I.,  293,  294,  311, 

317 
Cranston   Street,   Providence, 

R-  I-,  325 
Crawford,   Ethan,   pioneer, 

238 
Crawford  House,  N.  H.,  237, 

243 

[433] 


INDEX 


Crawford  Notch,  N.  H.,  224, 

225,  229,  233,  238 

discovery  of,  223 

pioneer  road  in,  223,  225 

Creek  Road,  Danby,  Vt.,  266 

Crocker,  Major,  house  of,  356 

Cromack,  Irwin  C,  preserved 

milestone,  161 
Crompton,  R.  I.,  317 
Croyden,  N.  H.,  232 
Croyden  Turnpike    (N.  H.), 
232,  235,  236 


Cumberland,  Md.,  17,  20 
R.  I.,  188 

Cumberland  Gap,  10 

Cumberland  Road,  appropria- 
tions for,  19 
completed  to  Wheeling,  19 
completed     to     Mississippi 

River,  19 
last  tolls  on,  21 
mail  stages  on,  22 
transferred  to  states,  21 
various  sections  of,  21 


Cumberland      Turnpike      Co. 
(R.  I.),  326 

Cumberland      Turnpike-road 
Co.  (Md.),  20 

Cumberland    and    Smithfield 
Turnpike  (R.  I.),  317 

Cummington,  Mass.,  149 

Curricle,  46 

Currier,  John,  contractor,  231 

Cushing,   Thomas,  toll  gath- 
erer, 179 
gift  to,  179 


Dalton,  N.  H.,  230 

Dalton  and  Middlefield  Turn- 
pike Corp.  (Mass.),  176, 
199 

Damages  to  road,  penalty  for, 
61,  79 

Dana,  Mass.,  133 

Danbury,  Conn.,  338,  339,  361, 
373,  374,  401,  406 
N.  H.,  231 

Danbury  and  Norwalk  Rail- 
road, 408 

Danbury,  Redding,  Weston, 
and  Westport  Plank 
Road  Co.,  397,  408 

Danbury  and  Ridgefield  Turn- 
pike  (Conn.),  361,  401 

Danby,  Vt.,  266 

Danielson,    Conn.,    313,    394, 

397 

Danvers,  Mass.,  126,  128,  129 

Danville,  Vt.,  225,  262,  264, 
278,  282 

Danville  Turnpike  (Vt.),  262, 
278,  282 

Danville  and  Passumpsic 
Plank  Road  Co.  (Vt.), 
281 

Darien,  Conn.,  408 

Dark  Plains,  Concord,  N.  H., 
217,  219 

Darling,  Edward,  commis- 
sioner of  turnpikes,  289 

Dartmouth  College,  259 

Dartmouth  and  New  Bedford 
Turnpike  Corp.  (Mass.), 
182 

Davenport,  Charles  F.,  peti- 
tioner, 203 
Isaac,    set    milestones, 
148 

Davenport's  Corner,  Milton, 
Mass.,  146 

Davis,  John,  contractor,  20 

Davis  Pond,  111 

Davis  Trail,  Mount  Washing- 
ton, 238 

Day's  Ferry,  Maine,  130,  14s 

Dean,  Abiezer,  coroner,  173 

Dearborn  Street,  Boston,  207 

Dearborn  and  Emerson's 
Stage,  79 

Death  notice,  126 

[434] 


D 

Dedham,  Mass.,  25,  27,  87,  89, 

90,  95,  100,  138,  140,  185 
Dedham  Common,  Mass.,  99 
Dedham    Courthouse,    Mass., 

89 
Dedham  Historical  Society,  64 
Dedham  Road  Station,  Mass., 

gravel    supply    for    Back 

Bay,  191 
Dedham      Square,      Dedham. 

Mass.,  94 
Deerfield  River   (Mass.),  66, 

205 
bridge  over,  66 
in  Wilmington,  Vt.,  gate  at, 

253 
Vt.,  250 

Delaware  and   Hudson  Rail- 
road, 259 

Deming's    Saw   Mill,   Dorset, 
Vt.,  266 

Deonkook  Mountain,  167 

Depot  Road,  Princeton,  Mass., 
192 

Derby,   Conn.,  337,   346,   348, 
370,  371 
•  old  town  much  larger,  337 

Derby  Bridge  and  Ferry  Co., 

403 
Derby    Landing,    Conn.,   347, 
348,    375,    395,   400,   403, 
404 
Derby  Turnpike  (Conn.),  346, 

347,  370,  371,  389,  395 
Derby  Center,  N.  H.,  231 
Dexter,     Dr.     Aaron,     land- 
owner, 81 
Jeremiah,  house,  of,  302 
Diamond  Hill  Road,  Cumber- 
land, R.  I.,  310 
Dicker  system,  47 
Dickey,  mail  contractor,  24 
Dickenson,  Samuel,  stage,  258 
Ditkinson's  Hill  (Mass.),  74 
Directors    of     Internal     Im- 
provement (Mass.),  99 
Distance,  reduction  in,  Boston 

to  New  York,  51 
Dividends,  Chester  and  North 
Killingworth     Second 
Turnpike  (Conn.),  406 
Fifth  Massachusetts  Turn- 
pike, 71 


Glocester  Turnpike  (R.  I.), 

297 
Newburyport     Turnpike 

(Mass.),  126 
Norfolk  and  Bristol  Turn- 
pike (Mass.),  92 
Shetucket        Turnpike 

(Conn.),  402 
Worcester       Turnpike 
(Mass.),  161 
Division    of    tolls,    168,    173, 

382 
Doane's  Mills,  Searsburg,  Vt., 

281 
Dodgingtown,  Conn.,  402,  405 
Dole,  Moses,  tavern  of,  231 
Dollycops,    domestic    felicity, 

237 
Dollycops      Road,      Gorham, 

N.  H.,  237 
Dolly's,  South  Walpole,  Mass., 

97 
Dorchester,    Mass.,    101,    103, 

117,    118,    144,    147,    149, 

185,  207,  209 
Dorchester    Avenue,    Boston, 

Mass.,  142,  144 
Dorchester  Lower  Road,  101 
Dorchester  Neck,  Mass.,  144 
Dorchester  Turnpike  (Mass.), 

138,  141,  172,  189 
best  year's  business,  62 
Dorchester      and      Milton 

Branch  Railroad,  208 
Dorr's  Hill,  Conn.,  379 
Dorset,  Vt.,  266 
Dorset   Turnpike   Co.    (Vt.), 

266 
Douglas  Avenue,  Providence, 

R.  I.,  300 
Douglas  Center,  Mass.,  183 
Douglas  meeting-house,  Mass., 

198 
Douglas     Road,    Webster, 

Mass.,   198 
Douglas,  Sutton,  and  Oxford 

Turnpike    (Mass.),    183, 

300 
Douglas,   Mass.,   75,   76,    195, 

299,  343 
Dover,  Mass.,  138,  140,  203 
N.  H.,  227 

fare  from  Boston,  52 


INDEX 


Dover  Street,  Boston,  Mass.. 

141 
Dover  Street  Bridge,  Boston, 

Mass.,  141,  142,  189 
Dover  Turnpike  (N.  H.),227 
Downing,  Lewis,  designer  of 

Concord  coach,  49 
Dragon    Bridge,    Conn.,    339, 

393 

Dragon  Turnpike  Co.(Conn.), 
409 

Drawbridge,    crude    form    in 
use,  1909,  178 

Drawbridges, utility  conceded, 
179 
regarded     as     public     nui- 
sances, 177 

Dresden,  Maine,  114,  141 

Drills,  37 


Dudley,  Mass.,  194,  195,  396 

Dudley,  Paul,  set  milestones, 
147,  148 
General    Peter,   built  turn- 
pike, 277 

Dudley  Street,  Boston,  Mass., 
207 

Dudley   Street    Station,   Bos- 
ton, Mass.,  160 

Duke  Street,  Alexandria,  Va.,8 

Dummer,  Richard,  early  mill 
owner,  185 

Dumpling  Pond,  Conn.,  377 

Duncan,  Conn.,  386 

Dunham's   Tavern   in   Mans- 
field, Conn.,  344 

Dunstan's  Corner,  Maine,  106 

Durell,    Charles,    landowner, 
247 


Durfey,  Job,  landowner,  298 
Durham,  Conn.,  386,  393 

N.  H.,  217,  218 
Durham  Avenue,  Middletown, 

Conn.,  386 
Durham    Street,    Conn.,    385, 

387.  393 

Durham  and  East  Guilford 
Turnpike  (Conn.),  385 

"  Durham  and  Madison  Turn- 
pike "   (Conn.),  385 

Dutton  House,  New  London, 
Conn.,  359 

Dwight,    Thomas,    letter    of, 

64,  75.  90 
Dr.    Timothy,    travels    of, 

345 
Dyer,  Colonel  Thomas,  house 
of,  356 


Earnings  on  Blue  Hill  Turn- 
pike estimated,  62 
Earnings  on  Shetucket  Turn- 
pike (Conn.),  403 
East  Avenue,  Pawtucket,  R.I., 

322 
East  Barnet,  Vt,  271,  282 
East  Bridgewater,  Mass.,  131 

fare  from  Boston,  52 
East   Central    Street,   Natick, 

Mass.,  195 
East    Greenwich,    R.    I.,   292, 

296,  315 
East  Haddam,  Conn.,  385,  405 
East   Haddam   Ferry,   Conn., 

385 
East  Haddam  and  Colchester 

Turnpike  (Conn.),  385 
East    Hartford,    Conn.,    140, 

141,    338,    342,    343,    359. 

366.  367 
East  Hartford  Bridge,  344 
East     Hartford     Ferry,     141, 

342,  343,  344,  366 
suppressed     in     favor     of 

bridge,  367 
East  Haven,  Conn.,  393 
East  Lee,  Mass.,  166 
East  Litchfield,  Conn.,  351 
East    Main    Street,    Meriden, 

Conn.,  350 
East  Meriden,  Conn.,  384 
East     Middle     Turnpike 

(Conn.),  373 
East  Milton,  Mass.,  147 
East    Milton    Village,    Mass., 

207 
East,  North,  and  South  Road, 

Lincoln,  Vt.,  278 
East   Providence,   R.   I.,   202, 

203 
East   River   Road,    Cornwall, 

Conn.,  379 
East  Road,  Portsmouth,  R.  I., 

208 
East  Rock,  Conn.,  357 


East  Ryegate,  Vt.,  paper  mill, 

271 
East  Side  Road,  N.  H.,  237 
East  Street,  Dedham,  Mass., 

90,  99 
gate  near,  99 
East  Walpole,  Mass.,  25,  95 
Eastern     Avenue,     Framing- 
ham,  Mass.,  166 
Eastern  Mail  Stage,  52 
Eastern  Railroad,  126 
Eastern  Stage  Co.,  126 
Eastern  Turnpike  (N.  Y.),  67 
Eastford,  Conn.,  343,  345,  378, 

396 
Eastman,  Capt.  Ebenezer,  first 

ferryman,  218 
Easton,  Conn.,  401,  404 
Mass.,  148,  171,  173 
.  N.  J.,  is 
Eaton,     Roswell,     house    of, 

356 
Solomon,  tavern  of,  132 
Echo  Bridge,  Newton  Upper 

Falls,  Mass.,  161 
Eddy's      Point,      Providence, 

R.  I.,  318,  319 
Eddy      Street,      Providence, 

R.  I.,  3i8,  319 
Edgewood,  Providence,  R.  I., 

3l8 

Edmond's  gristmill,  Coven- 
try, R.  I.,  310 

Edward  III,  4 

Effingham,  N.  H.,  149,  229 

Efforts  to  abolish  turnpikes 
in  Rhode  Island,  289 

Egremont,  Mass.,  79,  168, 
186 

Egremont  Plain,  Mass.,  168 

Eighth  Massachusetts  Turn- 
pike, 73,  79,  127,  128,  176, 
193.  199.  204 

El  Dorado  of  turnpike  pro- 
moters, 186 

Electric  cars,  East  Hartford, 


to     South     Glastonbury, 
Conn.,  359 
Fall    River    to    New    Bed- 
ford, 324 
Middletown     and    Meriden 

Turnpike  (Conn.),  384 
Plum       Island       Turnpike 

(Mass.),   160 
Southington     and     Water- 
bury  Turnpike    (Conn.), 
386 
Still     River     Turnpike 

(Conn.),  387 
Taunton     and     Providence 

Turnpike,  203 
Willimantic     to     Norwich, 

Conn.,  353,  356 
Willimantic  to  South  Cov- 
entry, Conn.,  354 
Eleventh  Massachusetts  Turn- 
pike Corp.,  79,  183,  358 
Eliot,  General,  mills  of,  161 
Eliot   Square.  Boston,  Mass., 

97.  161 
Eliot  Street,  Newton,  Mass., 

163 
Elizabethtown,  N.  J.,  15 
Elkins,  Grant,  N.  H.,  237 
Ellington.  Conn.,  372,  383,  400 
Elliot,    Obadiah,   inventor   of 

elliptic  spring,  47 
Elliptic  spring  invented,  47 
Ellis  River  (N.  H),  236,  237 
Elm   Street,   Concord,   Mass., 

134 
Elmdale,  R.  I.,  296 
Elmore   Pond   Turnpike   and 
Building  Co.    (Vt.).   283 
Elmore  Mountain,  Vt.,  283 
Elmore  Pond,  Vt.,  283 
Elmwood      Avenue,      Provi- 
dence, R.  I.,  315,  317 
Ely's    Wharf    Ferry,    Conn., 

391,  392 
Emerson,  Dearborn,  stage  line, 
220 

[435] 


INDEX 


Emerson,  Ralph  Waldo,  123 
Emerson  House,  North  Attle- 

boro,  Mass.,  08 
Encroachments    in    Billerica, 

Mass.,  156 
Providence  and   Pawtucket 

Turnpike  (R.  I.),  304 
Enfield,  Mass.,  Ill,  133 

N.  H.,  221,  232 
England,  sought  monopoly  of 

textile  manufactures,  321 
English  corporations,  old,  31 
English     trust     system,     289, 

331 
Epsom,  N.  H.,  217 
Erie  Canal,  200 


Essex,  Conn.,  389,  391 
Essex  County,  Vt.,  260 
Essex  Turnpike  (Conn.),  391, 

392,  398,  399 
Essex  Turnpike  (Mass.),  127, 

128,  266 
Estabrook,  Benjamin,  director, 

.7° 
Estimate  of  earnings  on  Blue 

Hill  Turnpike,  62 
Essex  County,  Mass.,  85,  123, 

128,  149,  160 
Essex  Turnpike  (Mass.),  127, 

149,  186,  231 
Eustis  Street,  Boston,  Mass., 

207 


Evasions  of  toll,  penalty  for, 

61 
Everett,  Mass.,  124 
Everett  Square,  Everett,  Mass., 

124 
Excess    condemnation,    early 

effort  at,  362 
Excess  toll,  penalty  for,  61 
Exemptions     from    toll,     13, 

59,    147,    251,    287,    332, 

334 
Exeter,    N.    H.,    fare    from 

Boston,  52 
Experimental    concrete   road, 

129 
Exton,  Penn.,  14 


Fabyan  House,  White  Moun- 
tains, 225,  241 

Factory  Brook,  Peru,  Mass., 
119 

Fairbanks,  Thaddeus,  49 

Fairbanks  Museum,  St.  Johns- 
bury,  Vt.,  270 

Fairbanks  scale  factory,  278 

Fairfax,  Va.,  8 

Fairfax  and  Loudon  Turn- 
pike Road  Co.  (Va.),7,8 

Fairfield,  Conn.,  339,  376,  401, 
404 
Mass..  75 

Fairfield  County,  Conn.,  clear- 
ance of  turnpikes,  401, 
404 

Fairfield  County  Turnpike 
(Conn.),  405 

Fairfield  Station,  Boston  and 
Albany  Railroad,  204 

Fairfield,  Weston,  and  Red- 
ding Turnpike  (Conn.), 
339 

Fairhaven,  Conn.,  393 
Vt.,  259,  267 

Fairhaven  Turnpike  (Conn.), 
388,  393,  405,  407 

Fairhaven  Turnpike  (Vt.), 
267 

Fales,  John,  house  of,  188 
Samuel,  director,  172 

Fall  trips  to  Boston  markets, 
219,  221 

Falling  Creek  coal  mines 
(Va.),  17 

Fall  River,  Mass.,  324,  325, 
326 

Fall  River  and  Watuppa 
Turnpike  (R.  I.),  324 

Falls    Bridge,    Falls    Village, 
Conn.,  364 
Seymour,     Conn.,     371, 
395 

Falls  Turnpike   (Md.),  17 

Falls  Village,  Conn.,  364, 
379,  409 

Fanny,  steamer,  51 

Fare,  Boston  to  Keene,  220 

[436] 


Boston  to  Lowell,  157 
Boston  to  Portsmouth,  125 
Boston  to  Providence,  99 
stage  in  1825,  52 
Farmington,  Conn.,  345,  349, 
351,    357,    360,    361,    374, 
_      375.  380 

Farmington     Avenue,     Hart- 
ford, Conn.,  360,  361 
Farmington    River    (Conn.), 

345,  355,  361,  362,  388 
Farmington  River  (Mass.),  76 
Farmington    River    Turnpike 
(Conn.),    355,    387,    388, 

394 

'  Farmington  River  Turn- 
pike "    (Mass.),  76 

Farmington  and  Bristol  Turn- 
pike (Conn.),  351,  352, 
360,  374 

Farmington  and  Harwin- 
ton  Turnpike  (Conn.), 
409 

Farnum  and  Providence 
Turnpike  Co.,  307,  312 

Farrington's  Hill,  Lynn, 
Mass.,  81 

Farrington  Memorial,  123 

Fayston  Turnpike  Co.  (Vt.), 
284 

Fearing,  Martin,  president, 
179 

Federal  Bridge,  Concord, 
N.  H.,  217,  218,  219 

Federal  Street,  Boston,  Mass., 
144 

Federal  Street  Bridge,  Bos- 
ton, Mass.,  142 

Felton,  Captain,  store  of,  128, 
129 

Fens,  Boston,  Mass.,  160 

Fenton  River  (Conn.),  345 

Fern  pickers,  275 

Ferries,  28 

turnpike  terminals,  381 

Ferry  at  Bristol,  R.  I.,  298 
East  Haddam,  Conn.,  385 
East  Hartford,  Conn.,  342, 
343 


Ely's  Wharf,  391 
Hadlyme,  Conn.,  405 
Hartford  to  East  Hartford, 

Conn.,  342,  343 
Hiern's  in  Ferrisburg,  Vt., 

273 
Higganum,  Conn.,  387 
Middle    Hero   to    Cumber- 
land Head,  Vt.,  272 
Middletown     to     Portland, 

Conn.,  381 
New   London,   Conn.,   292, 

389,  390 
railroad,  across  Providence 

River,  322 
Saybrook,  Conn.,  380 
Ferrisburg,  Vt.,  273 
Field,     Horace,     diligence 

Providence  to  Pawtucket, 

Fifteen  Mile  Falls,  N.  H.  and 
Vt.,  230 

Fifteenth  Massachusetts 
Turnpike,  113,  173,  175, 
186,  187,  365 

Fifth  Massachusetts  Turn- 
pike, 69,  103,  131,  133, 
134,  173,  222 

Fifth  New  Hampshire  Turn- 
pike, 222 

Fines  for  bad  order  of  road, 
61 

Fire  Department,  Boston, 
Mass.,  established,  128 

Fire  lookout  on  Uncanoonuc 
Mountain,  N.  H..  246 

First  Cumberland  Turnpike 
(Maine),  106,  196,  211 

First  hotel  on  Mount  Wash- 
ington, N.  H.,  238 

First  Littleton  Bridge (N.H.), 
229,  230,  261 

First  Maine  Turnpike  Corp.. 
106 

First  Massachusetts  Turn- 
pike, 63,  75,  159,  176, 
192,  351,  399 

First  Massachusetts  Turn- 
pike contract  price,  64,  65 


INDEX 


First  Vermont  Turnpike  Co., 
250,  253 

First  wagon,  Connecticut  to 
Providence,  296 

Fish,  Mrs.  Bathsheba,  land- 
owner, 298 

Fisher,  Jacob,  landowner,  169 

Fisherville,  N.  H.,  220 

Fishkill,  N.  Y.,  369 

Fisk,  Experience,  landowner, 
252,  260 

Fitch,  Major,  early  settler, 
352 

Fitch's  Ironworks,  Bozrah, 
Conn.,  375 

Fitchburg,  Mass.,  69,  70,  131, 

173 
fare  from  Boston,  52 
Fitchburg  Railroad,  122,  134 
Fitzwilliam,  N.  H.,  131,  157, 

222,  234,  235 
Fitzwilliam  Turnpike(N.H.), 

235 
Flanders,  fire  warden,  246 
Floating  Bridge,  Lynn,  Mass., 

85 
Worcester    Turnpike,    161, 

165 
Florida,  Mass.,  206 
Florida  Mountain,  66 
Flume,  Franconia,  N.  H.,  244 
Flume  House,  old  and  new, 

244 
"  Foot  of  the  Rocks,"  West 

Cambridge,     Mass.,    153, 

_,      155 

Forbes,  petitioner,  168 

Forbush's  Tavern,  Westboro, 

Mass.,  163 
Fore  River,  Weymouth,  Mass., 

176 
Fore  River  Bridge,  178 
Fore  River  Shipyards,  178 
Forest   Hills.    Boston,   Mass., 

89,  94,  185 
Forest  Street,  Medf  ord,  Mass., 
_      150 
Forestdale   Plank   Road   Co., 

(Vt),  284 


Forestry  Bureau,  Vt.,  275 
Formation    of    corporations, 

145 
Fort  Dummer,  Vt.,  249 
Fort   Point  Channel,   Boston, 

Mass.,  142 
Foster,  James  H.,  treasurer, 

118 
Foster,   R.   I.,  292,  294,  295, 

296,  312,  313,  314. 
Foster  Branch  Turnpike  Co. 

(R.  I.),  326 
Foster   Valley  Turnpike   Co. 

(R.  I.),  327 
Foster  and  Glocester  Appian 

Way  Society  (R.  I.),  313, 

314 
Foster    and    Scituate    Turn- 
pike   (R.    I.),    312,    314, 

_      315,  394 

Foster  and  Scituate  Central 
Turnpike    (R.    I.),    313, 

_     314 

Foundry  Street,  South  Bos- 
ton, 141 

Four  Mile  Stone,  Roxbury, 
Mass.,  146,  148,  161 

Fourteenth  Massachusetts 
Turnpike,  103,  134 

Fourth  New  Hampshire 
Turnpike,  220,  230,  231, 
232 

Fourth  Street,  South  Boston, 
Mass.,  141,  142 

Fox  Point,  R.  I.,  303 

Foxboro,    Mass.,   25,    91,   98, 
100 
tavern  in,  98 

Framingham,  Mass.,  161,  166, 
194 

Franconia,  N.  H.,  244 

Franconia  Notch,  N.  H.,  243 

Franconia  Turnpike  Corp. 
(N.  H.),  248 

Franconia  and  White  Moun- 
tain Notches  Turnpike 
Corp.  (N.  H.),  243 

Franklin,  Conn.,  338,  356 
Mass.,  140 


Franklin,  Benjamin,  mile- 
stone set  by,  379 

Franklin  County,  Mass.,  pro- 
ceedings in,  70,  71 
Vt.,  260 

Franklin  Park,  Boston,  Mass., 
147 

Franklin  Road,  Yantic,  Conn., 
338 

Frankstown,  Penn.,  16 

Frederick  Gate  (Md.),  9 

Frederick  Turnpike  (Md.), 
10,  17,  20 

Fredericksburg,  Va.,  411 

Free  conveyance  of  land,  233 

Freetown,  Mass.,  137 

claimed   by    Rhode    Island, 
.303 

Freight  rates,  Boston  to 
Lowell,  157 

French,  Lipha,  director,  70 

Fresh  Pond,  Cambridge, 
Mass.,  120 

Friends'      Meeting-house      in 
Foster,  R.  I.,  314 
New  Milford,  Conn.,  341 
Smithfield,  R.  I.,  317 

Front  Street,  Boston,  Mass., 
141,  169 

Frost,  Walter,  house  of,  151 

Fruit  Hill  Avenue,  Provi- 
dence, R.  I.,  308 

Fry,  Sterry,  omnibus  line, 
305 

Fryeburg,  Baldwin,  and  Port- 
land Turnpike  Corp. 
(Maine),  149 

Fuller,     Daniel,     landowner, 
400 
Stephen,  Jr.,  stage  of,  86 

Fuller's  tavern,  Mansfield 
Four  Corners,  Conn.,  345 

Fulton,  Robert,  letter  of,  36 

Fulton,  steamboat,  390 

Furnace  in  Salisbury,  Conn., 
364 

Fryeburg,  Baldwin,  and  Port- 
land  Turnpike  Corp. 
(Maine),  224 


Gager,  Levi,  house  of,  356 

Gale  of  September,  1915, 
247 

Gallatin,  Albert,  14,  350 
report  on  internal  improve- 
ment, 14-18 

Gallup,  Widow  Charles,  land- 
owner, 282 

Gardner,  Mass.,  69 

Gardner,  Lake,  Salem,  Conn., 
399 

Garrison  House,  Attleboro,88 

Gas  on  Providence  and  Paw- 
tucket  Turnpike  (R.  I.), 
304 

Gates,  32 


location  of,  58,  59 

recent   in   Virginia   serving 

their  purpose,  412 
re-established    in    Virginia, 

411 
stolen,  232 
Ashby,  Mass.,  158 
Baltimore,  Md.,  10 
Bath  Turnpike,  145 
Blandford,  Mass.,  204 
Boston  Turnpike    (Conn.), 

342 
Bridgeport    and    Newtown 

Turnpike  (Conn.),  365 
Bristol,  N.  H.,  226 
Cambridge    to    Watertown 


Turnpike,  not  erected  on, 

196 
Camden  Turnpike  (Maine), 

104 
Charlton  City,  Mass.,  158 
Cheshire  Turnpike  (Conn.), 

357 
collecting  for  ;wo  hundred 

rods  of  road,  368 
Columbia  Turnpike  ( Conn.) , 

383 
Connecticut,  10 
in   Connecticut   for   Rhode 

Island  road,  295 
Connecticut       Turnpike 

(Conn.),  376 

[4373 


INDEX 


Gates,   Cornwall   and   Wash- 
ington Turnpike  (Conn.), 

375 
Coventry      and      Cranston 

Turnpike   (R.  I.),  3" 
in  Dedham,  Mass.,  99 
Derby    Turnpike    (Conn.), 

347 
in  Durham,  N.  H.,  218 
Durham  and  East  Guilford 

Turnpike  (Conn.),  385 
in  England,  5 
Essex    Turnpike    and    An- 

dover     and      Medford 

Turnpike,  128,  150 
first  in  America,  7 
first     in     New     England, 

335 

in  Forest  Hills,  Boston, 
Mass.,  94,  99 

Foster  and  Scituate  Cen- 
tral   Turnpike    (R.    I.), 

313 

in  Francestown,  N.  H.,  219 

Goshen  and  Sharon  Turn- 
pike (Conn.),  372 

Greenwoods  Turnpike 
(Conn.),  349 

Hartford  to  Norwich  Turn- 
pike (Conn.),  338 

in  Hillsboro  Upper  Village, 
N.  H.,  219 

in  Holden,  Mass.,  73 

Lancaster  (Penn.),  Turn- 
pike, 12 

in  Lee,  N.  H.,  218 

Lincoln  Turnpike  (N.  H.), 
244 

in  Maryland,  9 

in  Medfield,  Mass.,  140 

Mendon  Road,  South  Attle- 
boro,  Mass.,  99 

Middlesex  Turnpike 
(Mass.),  154 

Middlesex  Turnpike 
(Conn.),  369 

Mill  Dam,  191 

in  Millis,  Mass.,  140 

Mohegan  Road  (Conn.), 
established,  334 

Moosilauke  Mountain  Road 
244 

National  Road,  21 

New  Bedford  and  Bridge- 
water  Turnpike,  132 

New  London  and  Wind- 
ham County  Turnpike 
.(Conn.),  336 

Norfolk  and  Bristol  Turn- 
pike (Mass.),  99 

Norwich  and  Woodstock 
•Turnpike  (Conn.),  362 

in  Palmer,  Mass.,  64 

Passumpsic Turnpike  (Vt.), 
270 

Peru  Turnpike  (Vt.),  277 

in  Philadelphia,  Penn.,  14 

Pomfret  and  Killingley 
Turnpike    (Conn.),  368 

[438] 


Powder    Mill    Turnpike 

(R.  I.),  308 
in  Princeton,  Mass.,  192 
Providence     and     Douglas 

Turnpike  (R.  I.),  299 
Providence      to      Norwich 

road  (Conn.),  292 
Providence    and    Norwich 

Turnpike   (R.  I.),  293 
Providence  and  Pawtucket 

Turnpike   (R.  I.),  304 
Salem  Turnpike  (Mass.),  86 
in  Scarboro,  Maine,  106 
in  Somerville,  Mass.,  155 
in  South  Attleboro,  Mass., 

99 

in  South  Walpole,  Mass.,  99 

Southington  and  Water- 
bury  Turnpike  (Conn.), 
386 

in  Tennessee,  10 

Union    Turnpike    (Mass.), 

135 
in  Virginia,  established,  7 
Watertown      Turnpike 

(Mass.),  194 
in  Wellesley,  Mass.,  195 
Windham         Turnpike 

(Conn.),  353 
Windham  Turnpike   (Vt.), 

253  ., 

Windham     and     Brooklyn 

Turnpike  (Conn.),  397 
Woonasquatucket  Turnpike 

(R.  D,  3io 
Worcester       Turnpike 

(Mass.),  163 
in  Woronoco,  Mass.,  75 
Gate  of  the  Mountains,  Gor- 

ham,  N.  H.,  238 
Gay,     Timothy,     miller     and 

toll  gatherer,  99 
General    corporation    law    of 
Massachusetts,    1805,    57, 
145 
Genesee  River,  16 
Georgetown,  Conn.,  339 

D.  C,   7 
Georgia  and  Johnson  Turn- 
pike Co.  (Vt.),  284 
Germantown,   Boston,   Mass., 
89 
Penn.,  16 
Gerry,  Mass.,  69 
Gig,  47 
Gilbert's    Bridge,    Mansfield, 

Conn.,  356 
Gill,  Moses,  Lieut.-Governor, 

87 
Gilmore,   Joshua,   landowner, 

171,  173 
Glastonbury,  Conn.,  359 

Vt.,  281 
Glastonbury  Plank  Road  Co. 

(Vt.),  281 
Gleed,  Hon.  Thomas,  of  Mor- 

ristown,  Vt.,  280 
Glen     Ellis    Falls,     N.     H., 

236 


Glen  House,  Gorham,  N.  H., 

236,  237,  238 
Glidden  Meadow,  Northfield, 

N.  H.,  245 
Globe     Street,     Fall     River, 

Mass.,  326 
Glocester   Turnpike    (R.   I.), 

296,  308,    320,    321,    367 
368 

Gloucester,    R.    I.,    290,    296, 

297.  301,  314,  315,  320 
Glour,  Mr.  Joh,  ferryman,  101 
Gobble     Mountain,     Chester, 

Mass.,  201 
Goddard   Street,   Providence, 

R.  I.,  300 
Goddard,   Stephen,  house   of, 

151,  152 
Goff's    Brook,    Wethersfield, 

Conn.,  368 
Goffstown,  N.  H.,  245 
Goldsborough,   Governor,   10, 

20 
Goodenow,     Edward,     land- 
owner, 192 
Goodspeed's     Landing,     East 

Haddam,  Conn.,  385 
Goodwin,     Joseph,     corpora- 
tion sole,  128 
Mrs.,  tavern  of,  132 
Gore  Turnpike  (Mass.),  198 
Gorham,  N.  H.,  238 
Gorham  Tide  Mill,  Noroton, 

Conn.,  377 
Goshen,  Conn.,  355,  371,  387 
Mass.,  149 
Vt.,  279 
Goshen  Turnpike  Co.   (Vt.), 

279 
Goshen  and  Sharon  Turnpike 

(Conn.),  371,  387 
Goss  Bridge  (Mass.),  78 
Government     Road,     Becket, 

Mass.,  74,  127 
"  Governor  King's  Turnpike," 

144 
'Governor  Paine's  Turnpike,"' 

253 
Governor  Street,  East  Hart- 
ford, Conn.,  367 
Grade,     Mount     Washington 

Summit  Road,  240 
Grades,  effect  of,  36 
Grafton,  Mass.,  201 

N.  H.,  231 
Grafton    Turnpike    (N.   H.), 

230 
Granby,  Conn.,  358,  378 
Granby     Turnpike     (Conn.), 

358 
Granby     and      Barkhamsted 

Turnpike  Co.  (Conn.)  ,409 
Grand  Trunk  Railway,  238 
Granger     Turnpike     Corp. 

(Maine),  212 
Granite  Avenue,  Milton  and 

Boston,  207 
Granite  Bridge   (Mass.),  206 
Granite  Railway,  207,  208 


INDEX 


Granite  Railway,  car  of,  208 
sold   to   Old   Colony   Rail- 
road Co.,  208 
track  of,  208 

Granite  State  Land  Co.,  235 

Grantham,  N.  H.,  232 

Grant's  Ferry  (N.  H.),  230 

Granville,  Mass.,  79,  80,   184, 
187,  199,  358 

Granville      Turnpike      Corp. 
(Mass.),  79,  184,  358 

Granville  and  Tolland  Turn- 
pike (Mass.),  187 

Gray's  Inn  Lane,  4 

Great  Barrington,  Mass.,  113, 
167,  175,  !86,  187 

Great  Barrington  and  Alford 
Turnpike  (Mass.),  186 

Great  Blue  Hill,  Mass.,  147 

Great  Bridge,  Norwalk,  Conn., 
401 

Great  Canastoga  Road,  11 

Great  Cedar  Swamp,  Easton, 
Mass.,  171,  172 

Great    Gulf,    White    Moun- 
tains, 237,  240 

Great   Moose   Hill,   Hunting- 
ton, Mass.,  119 

Great  North  Road  (Eng.),  4 

Great     Ossipee     Turnpike 
(N.  H.),  149,  229 

Great     Ponds,      Middleboro, 
Mass.,  131,  132 

Great  Road,  Sudbury,  Mass., 
52,  73,  169 
West     Cambridge,     Mass., 

'    153.  154.  155 
Windham,   Conn.,   to   Nar- 
ragansett  Bay,  352 


gate  recommended,  352 
improvement   of,   352 
Great  Sunapee  Turnpike  Co. 

(N.  H.),  248 
Green,     Duty,     incorporator, 

325,  402 
Green  Mountain,  Sunderland, 

Vt.,  274 
Green     Mountain     Turnpike 
(Vt.),     220,     252,     254, 
263,  273,  276 
tolls  to  be  divided  by  num- 
ber of  gates,  250 
Green  Mountains,  259,  276,  277 
Greene,  Timothy,  landowner, 

322 
Greenfield,  Maine,  211 
Mass.,  51,  69,  70,  71,  103 
fare  from  Boston,  52 
tavern  in,  69 
Green   River,   Alford,   Mass., 
168 
Hancock,  Mass.,  67 
Greenville,  R.  I.,  297,  308 
Greenwater    Pond     (Mass.), 

76 
Greenwich,    Conn.,    10,    290, 
335-  376,  377 
gate  in,  355,  376 
Mass.,  71,  73,  in,  133 
„  R-  I-,  352 
Greenwich     North     Parish 

(Mass.),  in,  133 
Greenwich    South     Parish, 

Mass.,  in,  133 
Greenwich     Turnpike     Co. 

(R.  I.),  296 
Greenwich   Village,   Mass., 
133 


Greenwich      and      Ridgefield 
Turnpike     Co.      (Conn.), 
409 

Greenwoods        Turnpike 
(Conn.),    8o,    345,    348, 
.  354.  355,  356,  378 

Griswold,  Conn.,  402,  403 

Grosvenor's  tavern  in  Pom- 
fret,  Conn.,  343 

Grosvernor  Dale,  Conn.,  380 

Groton,  Conn.,  390 
Mass.,  176,  183 

fare  from  Boston,  52 

Groton  Ferry  (Conn.),  292, 
316,  389,  390 

Groton  and  Pepperell  Turn- 
pike Corp.,  Mass.,  183,236 

Groton  and  Stonington  Turn- 
pike (Conn.),  316,  389 

Grout's  Mills,  Vt,  274,  275 

Grove  Hall,  Boston,  Mass., 
147,  148,  207 

Grove  Street,  New  Haven, 
Conn.,  350 

Guilford,  Conn.,  385,  389,  393 

Guilford  Green,  Conn.,  393 

Guilford  and  Durham  Turn- 
pike (Conn.),  393 

Gulf  Road,  Warwick,  Mass., 
70 

Gulf  Route  (Vt.),  260 

Gulliver's  Creek,  Milton, 
Mass.,  207,  208 

Gun  Factory  Dam,  New 
Haven,  Conn.,  357 

Guns  for  United  States  Navy, 
cast  at  Salisbury,  Conn., 
364 

Gunter's  chain,  38 


Hackensack  River  bridge,  41, 
42 

Haddam,  Conn.,  368,  386, 
387 

Haddam  Street,  Conn.,  386 

Haddam  and  Durham  Turn- 
pike (Conn.),  387 

Hadlyme  Turnpike  (Conn.), 
388,  405,  407 

Hale,  Jacob  and  Sons,  125 

Half-gates,  59,  99,  162,  167, 
192 

Half  Way  House,   Chocorua 
Mountain,  N.  H.,  247 
Mount  Washington,  240 
Stowe,  Vt.,  282 

Hagerstown,  Md.,  20 

Hagerstown  and  Conoco- 
cheague  Turnpike  Co.,  20 

Hamburg,  Conn.,  392 

Hamilton,  Alexander,  29 

Hampden,  Conn.,  349,  357 
Mass.,  192 

Hampden  County,  Mass.,  pro- 
ceedings in,  113,  119,  158, 
159,  184,  193-  199,  204 


H 

acted    for    Berkshire    and 
Hampshire    in    re    Pon- 
toosac  Turnpike,  200 
favored    Pontoosac    Turn- 
pike, 200 

Hampden  and  Berkshire 
Turnpike  (Mass.),  75, 
203,  358,  359 

Hampshire  County,  Mass., 
proceedings  in,  64,  66,  70, 
79,  103,  in,  119,  158, 
184 
opposed  Pontoosac  Turn- 
pike, 200 

Hampshire  Street,  Cam- 
bridge, Mass.,  122,  155 

Hampton,  N.  H.,  234,  235 

Hampton  Causeway,  Hamp- 
ton, N.  H.,  234 

Hampton   Falls,   N.   H.,   234, 

235 
Hampton   Harbor,    N.   H. 

235 
Hampton  River  (N.  H.),  235 
Hampton      River     Bridge 

(N.  H.),  235 


Hancock,  Mass.,  67,  69,  78 

Vt.,  272 
Hancock  Avenue,  New  Haven, 

Conn.,  386 
Hancock  Center,  Mass.,  67 
Hancock  Free  Bridge  Corp., 

197 
Hancock     Street,     Quincy, 

Mass.,   101 
Hancock  Turnpike   (N.  H.), 

248 
Hangers,  leather,  on  coaches, 

43 

Hanley,   Edward,   landowner, 
282 

Hanover,    N.    H.,    220,    236, 
259 

Hanover-town,  Penn.,  8 

Hard     times     of     1810-12, 
178 

Hardwick,  Mass.,  71,  m 
Vt.,  264 

Harmony,  R.  I.,  297 

Harnden,     Brigadier,     ferry- 
man, 130 
Samuel,  ferryman,  130 

[439] 


INDEX 


Harriman,  Capt.  Stephen, 
contractor's  outfit  of,  221 

Harriman's  Ferry,  Prospect, 
Maine,  106 

Harrington,  Joseph,  land- 
owner, 152,  153,  154 

Harrington's  Lane,  Provi- 
dence, R.  I.,  323 

Harrishof  Street,  Boston, 
Mass.,  147 

Harrison  Avenue,  Boston, 
Mass.,  141,  169 

Harrison  Square,  Mass.,  142 

Harrisburg,  Penn.,  16 

Harry,  Silas,  bridge  builder, 
20 

Hartford,  Conn.,  14,  50,  51, 
53.  63,  64,  75,  76,  80,  94, 
138,  140,  141,  144,  158, 
159,  166,  184,  192,  104, 
195,  294,  295,  313,  338, 
342,  343,  344,  345,  348, 
349,  353,  354,  355,  356, 
358,  360,  361,  366,  368, 
372,  373,  374,  377,  378, 
389,  396,  397,  399,  400 
fare    from    Boston,   Mass., 

52 
Vt.,  257 

Hartford  Avenue,  Providence, 
R.  I.,  296 

Hartford  Bridge  Co.,  366 

Hartford  Convention,  360 

Hartford  (Conn.)  court- 
house, 360 

Hartford  Stage,  94 

Hartford  Street,  Bellingham, 
Mass.,  76 
Westwood     and     Dover, 
Mass.,  138 

Hartford  Turnpike  (R.  I.), 
294 

"  Hartford  and  Albany  Turn- 
pike "   (Mass.),  76 

"  Hartford  and  Boston  Turn- 
pike "  (Conn.),  396 

"Hartford  and  Danbury 
Turnpike"  (Conn.),  361, 
374 

Hartford  and  Dedham  Turn- 
pike (Mass.),  94,  137, 
146,  343 

Hartford  and  New  Haven 
Turnpike  (Conn.),  14,  64, 
349,  357 

Hartford  and  New  London 
Turnpike  (Conn.),  359, 
384 

Hartford  and  New  York 
Transportation  Co.,  367 

Hartford  and  Tolland  Turn- 
pike (Conn.),  141,  158, 
192,  343,  344,  366,  372 

"  Hartford  and  Windham 
Turnpike"  (Conn.),  382 

Hartford,  Nev\t  London, 
Windham,  arm  Tolland 
County  Turnpike  (Conn. ) , 
338,  407 

[440] 


Hartford,     Providence,     and 

Fishkill  Railroad,  407 
Hartland,  Conn.,  355,  378 

Vt.,  256 
Hartland  Turnpike   (Conn.), 

378 
Hartsville,  Mass.,  113 
Harvard,  Mass.,  134,  135 
fare  from  Boston,  52 
Harvard  College,   119,   121, 

122 
Harvard      Street,      Boston, 

Mass.,  148 
Harwinton,  Conn.,  351 
Haskins     Neighborhood 

(Mass.),  132 
Haskins,  tavern  of,  205 
Hatch,  Colonel  Israel,  86,  88, 

89,  90 
Hatch's     Corner,     Attleboro, 

Mass.,  90 
Hattertown,  Conn.,  402 
Haverhill,    Mass.,    fare   from 

Boston,  Mass.,  52 
N.   H.,   226,   227,   232,   249, 

265,  266 
Haverhill     Bridge     (Mass.), 

128 
Haverhill  Corner,  N.  H.,  232 
Hawes,    Ichabod,    tavern    of, 

203 
Hawkins,    Finna,    landowner, 

272 
Hawkins  Point,  Derby,  Conn., 

403 
Hawley,  Elan,  store  of,  403 
Hayes,     Rutherford,     land- 
owner, 254 
Hazen  (see  Bayley-Hazen) 
Hazen,  Col.  Moses,  264 
Hazen's  Notch,  Westfield,Vt,. 

263,  264 
Head  of  Mystic,  Conn.,  389, 

390 
Heath,  Mass.,  66 
Heath      Street,      Brookline, 

Mass.,  162 
Heard,     John,     incorporator, 

114 
Hebron,  Conn.,  368.  382 

N.  H.,  226 
Hebron  and  Middle  Haddam 

Turnpike    (Conn.),    368, 

381,  382 
Hempstead  Street,  New  Lon- 
don, Conn.,  359 
Henniker.  N.  H.,  229 
Henry  III,  4 
Henry,  Colonel,  tavern  of,  199. 

201 

Herrendon's     Lane,      Provi- 
dence, R.  I.,  323 
Hiern's     Ferry,     Ferrisburg, 

Vt.,  273 
Higganum,  Conn.,  386,  387 
Higganum  Ferry,  Conn.,  387 
High    Street,    Bath,    Maine, 

145 
Dedham,  Mass.,  89,  94,  138 


Providence,  R.  I.,  325 
Randolph,  Mass.,  172 
High  Rock,  Wrentham,  Mass., 

89 
Highgate  Hill,  London,  4 
Highgate,  Vt.,  272 
Highway  Commission,  Mass., 

104 
Highland  Avenue,  Greenfield, 

Mass.,  70 
Salem,  Mass.,  81 
Highland     Park,     Greenfield, 

Mass.,  70 
Higley,    Luther,    landowner, 

362 
Simeon,  landowner,  364 
Hill  Street,  Seymour,  Conn., 

371 
Hillsboro,  N.  H,  229 
Hillsboro   Turnpike   Co. 

(N.  H.),  248 
Hillsdale,  N.  Y.,  175,  191 
Hillsdale  and  Chatham  Turn- 
pike (N.  Y.),  168 
Hingham,     Mass.,     115,     117, 

177 
allowed    toll     on    bridges, 

181 
Hingham    Naval    Magazines, 

178 
Hingham  and  Quincy  Bridge 

and    Turnpike     (Mass.), 

176 
Hinesburg     and     Burlington 

Turnpike  Co.   (Vt.),  284 
Hinsdale,  Mass.,  118,  119,  199 

N.  H,  222 
Hinsdale     Bridge     (N.     H.), 

222 

Historical    markers    in    Con- 
cord, N.  H.,  218 
Hoar,     Leonard,     director, 

120 
Hobbs     Brook     Reservoir, 

123 
Hodgman,  Jonas,  landowner, 

158 
Hoes,  37 

Holbrook,  John,  stage,  258 
Holden,    Mass,,    69,    71,    73, 

157 
Holden     Street,     Providence, 

R.  I.,  308 
Holland,  John,  ferryman,  101 
Holland,  Mass.,  158 

Vt.,  278 
Holland's  Ferry,  101 
Hollis,  N.  H,  236 
Holliston,  Mass.,  203 
Holmes,  Joseph,  house  of,  88 
Holmes'  Mill,  80 
Hook,  The,  Norwood,  Mass., 

96 

Hookset,  N.  H.,  231 
Hoosac  Mountain,  66,  205 
Hoosac    Mountain    Turnpike 

(Mass.),  205 
Hoosac  Rail  or  McAdamized 

Road  (Mass.),  206 


INDEX 


Hoosac  River,  206 
Hoosac  Tunnel,  66 
Hoosac  Tunnel  Route,  134 
Hoosac  Tunnel  station,  66 
Hop     Brook,     Tyringham, 

Mass.,  209 
Hop  River  Turnpike  (Conn.), 

354,  383,  407 
Hope  Reservoir,   Providence. 

R.  I.,  322 
Hope      Street,      Providence, 

R.  I.,  322 
Hope  Valley,  R.  I.,  317 
Hopedale,  Mass.,  76 
Hopkins,      Jonathan,      mill 

owner,  313 
Samuel,  house  of,  314 
Hopkins  Mills,  R.  I.,  312,  313, 

314 

Hopkinton,  Mass.,  194 
N.  H.,  220,  236 
R.  L,  390 

Hopkinton  City,  R.  I.,  317 

Hopkinton  and  Richmond 
Turnpike  (R.  I.),  316, 
389,  390 

Horsecars    on    Dorchester 
Avenue,  144 
on   Plum   Island   Turnpike, 
160 

Horse  Hummock,  Dorches- 
ter, 101 

Horse  Neck  Brook,  Green- 
wich, Conn.,  376 

Horseshoe,  Windham,  Conn., 
3S3 


Hosmer  Pond  (Vt.),  264 
Hospital    Street,    Providence, 

R.  I.,  319 
Hospitals     in     Providence, 

R.  I.,  319 

Hotchkisstown,     Conn.,     340, 

371 

Hotel,  first  in  White  Moun- 
tains, 225 

Hough,  Dr.  Insign,  tavern  of, 
350 

Houghton's  Corner,  Mass.,  70 

Housatonic  Railroad,  346,  365, 
409 

Housatonic  River  (Conn.), 
346,  364,  369,  374,  379, 
384,  389,  397,  400,  403, 
404 

Housatonic  River  (Mass.). 
166 

Housatonic  River  Turnpike 
(Mass.),  166,  173,  17S, 
181,  182,  186,  191,  358 

Housatonic  Valley,  80,  141, 
144 

House  of  the  Good  Shep- 
herd, Roxbury,  Mass., 
161 

Howard  Valley,  Conn.,  397 

Hovle's   Tavern,   Providence, 

"  R  I-,  32s 
Hoyt,  Ebenezer,  surveyor,  69, 
'70 

Jonathan,  killed,  126 
Hubbard's  cider  mill,  Tyring- 
ham, Mass.,  209 


Hubbardton  Turnpike   (Vt.), 
259,  268,  275 

Hubbardston,  Mass.,  157,  192 

Hudson,  N.  Y.,  186 

Hudson  River,  103,  267 

Hudson  River  towns,  276 

Hudson    Turnpike     (Mass.), 
181 

Hudson    Turnpike    (N.    Y.), 
79,  181 

Hudson  Valley,  166 

Humphrey,  Samuel,  Jr.,  land- 
owner, 362 

Humphreysville     and     Salem 
Turnpike  (Conn.),  395 

Hunt,     Capt.     Elisha,     land- 
owner, 69,  70 

Huntingdon,  Penn.,  16 
Conn.,  400,  403 
Mass.,  118,  119 

Huntington   Avenue,   Boston, 
Mass.,  160,  164 

Huntington     Ravine,     White 
Mountains,  237,  240 

Huntington  Street,  New  Lon- 
don, Conn.,  359 

Huntington  Turnpike  (Conn.), 
400,  403,  404 

Huntington      Turnpike      Co. 
(Vt.),  283 

Huntsville,  Conn.,  355 

Hyde,   Joshua,   house    of,   in 
Franklin,  Conn.,  338,  356 
in  Middlebury,  Vt.,  257 
Samuel,  tavern  of,  356 

Hyde  Park,  Vt.,  280 


Ideal  Tour,  277 

Illegality  of  Taunton  and 
Providence  Turnpike  lay- 
out, 202 

Incorporators  not  named, 
281 

India  Bridge,  Providence, 
R.  I.,  202 

India  Point,  Providence,  R.  I., 
206,  322,  324 

Indian  Joe,  scout,  264 


1 


Indian  Trail  through  Ver- 
mont to  Canada,  263 

Indians,  engineering  instincts 
of,  315 

Injustice  to  towns,  153,  331, 
353,  399 

Inspectors,  Turnpike  (Vt.), 
251 

Investment  in  turnpikes,  62 

Inwood  (see  East  Barnet,  Vt.) 

Ipswich,  Mass.,  125,  126 


Ipswich    Turnpike    Corp. 

(Mass.),  114 
Iriquois  Trail   (N.  Y.),  25 
Ironworks  Bridge,  Windham, 

Conn.,  353,  382 
Islehookset  Falls,  N.  H.,  231, 

236  . 

Israel's     River,     Lancaster, 

N.  H.,  230 
Ives'    tavern,    North    Haven, 

Conn.,  350 


Jackson,  Andrew,  23 

presidential  tour,  392,  399 
President's  message,  96 
Jacobs'  tavern  in  Thompson, 

Conn.,  343 
Jaffrey,  N.  H.,  79 

fare  from  Boston,  52 
Jamaica  Turnpike  Co.   fVt.), 

283 
Jefferson,  Thomas,  19 
Jefferson,  N.  H.,  242 
Jefferson,  Mount,  240 
Jefferson      Notch      Road 
•    (N.  H.),  242 


Jefferson      Road,     Jefferson, 

N.  H.,  246 
Lancaster,  N.  H.,  247 
Jefferson    Turnpike     Corp. 

(N.  H.),  230 
Jenkins     Corner,      Saugus, 

Mass.,  124 
Jersey  City,  N.  J.,  41,  42 
Jewett,     Ephraim,     carrier, 

98 
John    Colwill's    hill,    Foster, 

R.  I.,  294 
John     and     Philip     Browns' 

Road  (R.  I.),  301 


Johnson's     Creek,     Durham, 

N.  H.,  218 
Johnston,  R.  I.,  292,  293,  294, 

295,    296,    297,    313,    314, 

320 
Joint      committee      of      1869 

(R.  I.),  289 
Jones,  James,  director,  120 
Jones'  Sawmill,  Goshen,  Vt., 

279 
Judgment   sale   of    franchise, 

217 
Juniata  River  (Penn.),  16 
Junkets,  198 

[44i] 


INDEX 


Kearsarge  Mountain,  N.  H., 

241.  245 
signal  station  on,  241 
Kearsarge  Summit  Turnpike 

(N.  H.),  240 
Kearsarge    Village,    N.    H., 

240 
Keene,  N.  H.,  78,  79,  131,  158, 

219,  220,  222,  232,  256 
Kelly  Stand,  Vt.,  275 
Kendall,  Jonas,  tavern  of,  69 

Representative,  87 
Kendall    Square,    Cambridge, 

Mass.,  122 
Kennebec     Bridge     (Maine), 

106,  114 
Kennebec     River,     130,     145, 

227 
Arnold's  route,  264 
Kennebunk  Road  (Mass.)i2S 


K 

Kensington  Street,  New 
Haven,  Conn.,  348 

Kent,  Conn.,  369,  379 

Kent  County,  R.  I.,  opposi- 
tion to  tollgates,  307 

Kent  and  Warren  Turnpike 
Co.  (Conn.),  410 

Killingly,  Conn.,  295,  296,  367, 
368,  377,  394 

Killingly    Pond,    Conn.,    296, 

377 
Killingworth,  Conn.,  379,  388, 

393 
Killingworth    Center,    Conn., 

386,389 
Killingworth     and     Haddam 
Turnpike    (Conn.),    386, 

387 
Kimball,   John,   landowner, 
272 


Kimball's   tavern    in    Coven- 
try, Conn.,  344 
in  Needham,  Mass.,  165 
King,  Gov.  William,  144,  145 
King's  Highways,  11 
Kingsley,  Eliada,  corporation 

sole,  128,  167 
Kingston,  Vt.,  272 
Kingston     Hill,     R.     I.,    292, 

315 
Knapp's  Hill,  Johnston,  R.  I., 

313 
Knight,  Madam  Sarah,  25,  89, 

315,  336 
Knowlton,   Cyrus,   deposition 
of,  as  to  attempted  rob- 
bery, 96 
Knox,  Gen.  Henry,  130 
Knox's     Corner,     Wiscasset, 
Maine,  130 


Labor  supply,  127 

Ladd,  David,  house  of,  356 

Lake  Erie,  25 

Lake   of  the   Clouds,   Mount 

Mansfield,  Vt.,  282 
Lakeville,  Conn.,  364 

Mass.,  part  of,  claimed  by 

Rhode  Island,  303 
Lakeville  town  house  (Mass.), 

132 
Lamoille  County,  Vt.,  265 
Lamoille  County  Plank  Road 

(Vt.),  280 
Lamoille  River  (Vt.),  264 
Lancaster,  Mass.,  28,  134,  135, 
136,  169 
almshouse,  136 
N.  H.,  230,  247 
isolation  of,  223 
Ohio,  23     . 
Penn.,  11-14 
settlement  of,  223 
Lancaster   Improvement   Co., 

14 

Lancaster  Journal,  12 

Lancaster     Road,     Harvard, 
Mass.,  13s 

Lancaster      Turnpike      Corp. 
(Mass.),  173 

Lancaster  Turnpike   (Penn.), 
11-16 
cost,  13 

Lancaster  and   Bolton  Turn- 
pike (Mass.),  52,  169 

Lancaster     and     Williams- 
burg Turnpike    (Penn.), 

14 
Land  acquisition,  103 

Ashbv    Turnpike    (Mass.). 

158 
Cambridge     and     Concord 
Turnpike  (Mass.),  1 19 

[442] 


Green  Mountain  Turnpike 
(Vt.),  255         ■ 

Greenwoods  Turnpike 
(Conn.),  349 

Norfolk  and  Bristol  Turn- 
pike (Mass.),  90 

Peru  Turnpike  (Vt.),  276 

Rhode  Island  and  Con- 
necticut Turnpike  (R.  I.), 

295 
Taunton     and     Providence 

Turnpike  (Mass.),  202 
Taunton  and  South  Boston 

Turnpike  (Mass.),  172 
Land,  reversion  of,  61 
Land  sales  in  Back  Bay,  190 
Landaff,  N.  H.,  228     ■ 
Landau,  47 
Langdon,  N.  H„  232 
Lathrop,  Thaddeus,   contrac- 
tor, 231 
Lausanne,  Penn.,  16 
Lawrence,    Mass.,     128,    129, 

130 
Layout  between  pumps,  196 
Leavenworth,  Gideon,  bridge 

incorporator,  403 
Leavenworth    Bridge,   Derby, 

Conn.,  403 
Lebanon,  N.  H.,  220,  221,  232 
Lebanon    Road,    Franklin, 

Conn.,  338 
Norwich,  Conn.,  375 
Richmond     and     Hancock, 

Mass.,  78 
Lechmere   Point,   Cambridge, 

Mass.,  115 
Lee,  Mass.,  76,  167,  186,  355, 

38S 
N.  H.,  217,  218 
Lee     and     Westfield     Road, 

Otis,  Mass.,  204 


Leicester,  Mass.,  158,  187 
Lempster,  N.  H.,  232 
Lenox,  Mass.,  76,  78,  355,  388 
Lenox  Street,  Boston,  Mass., 

184 
Leominster,    Mass.,    70,    133, 

134.  147 
Leominster  Road,  Lancaster, 

Mass.,  169 
Leominster,  tavern  in,  69 
Levant  Village,  Maine,  211 
Lewy's  Island  Railroad,  211 
Lexington,  Mass.,  52,  120, 121, 

152,    153,    154,    155,    156, 

175 
Lexington     Road,     Concord, 

Mass.,  123 
Liberty,    James,    built    Cho- 

corua     Mountain     Road, 

247 
Liberty,  Md.,  20 
Limekilns,    Berkshire,   Mass., 

204 
Lime  Rock,  Conn.,  409 

R.  I.,  300,  301 
Lincoln,    Levi,    incorporator, 
64 
Gov.  Levi,  64,  128 
Lincoln,  Mass.,  120,  121,  122 
N.  H.,  246 
R.  I.,  300,  301,  318 
Vt.,  278,  279 
Lincoln  Brook,  Warren,  Vt., 

279 
Lincoln  County,  Maine,  114 
Lincoln    Turnpike    (N.    H.), 

244 
Lincoln  Turnpike  Co.   (Vt.), 

283 
Lincolnville,  Maine,  104 
Lippitt  Mills,  R.  I.,  311 
Lisbon,  Conn.,  336,  337,  362 


INDEX 


Litchfield,    Conn.,    340,    341, 

342,    351.    354,    355,    361, 

365,  366,  387,  389 
Litchfield  County,  Conn.,  379 
"Litchfield       Turnpike" 

(Mass.),  80 
Litchfield  Turnpike  (N.  H.), 

129,  248 
Litchfield     and      Cornwall 

Turnpike   (Conn.),  387 
Litchfield      and      Harwinton 

Turnpike    (Conn.),    351, 

360 
Litchfield     and     Plymouth 

Turnpike    Co.     (Conn.), 

410 
Little  River,  Seymour,  Conn., 

337,  371 

Little  River  (Va.),  8 

Little    River    Turnpike    Co. 
(Va.),  8 

Little's  tavern  in  East  Hart- 
ford, Conn.,  344 

Littleton,  Mass.,  176 
N.  H.,  229,  241 

Littleton     Turnpike     Corp. 
(N.  H.),  225,  229,  261 

Lobby,   by   Middlesex   Turn- 
pike    Corp.      (Mass.), 

153 
Local   exemptions   from   toll, 

154 
Local  tolls,  128 


Location    left    to    investors, 

170 
Locks  and  canals  of  Lowell, 

156 
Logan's  Hill,  Penn.,  29 
Loisquisset  Turnpike  (R.  I.), 

300 
Londonderry     Turnpike 
(N.   H.),    129,   231,   236, 
266 
Londonderry    Branch    Turn- 
pike (N.  H.),  236 
Long   Bridge,    New   London, 

Conn.,  379 
Long  Hill  Station,  Conn.,  398 
Long   Pond,    Great   Barring- 
ton,  Mass.,  186 
Middleboro,  Mass.,  182 
Shrewsbury,  Mass.,  164 
Long  service,  118,  179 
Lonsdale,  R.  I.,  310,  317,  318 
Lory's   gate,    Canaan,    Conn., 

375 
Lottery    Bridge,     Claremont, 

N.  H.,  155,  219 
Lottery    for    Mohegan    Road 

(Conn.),  334 
Lottery    for   Providence   and 

Norwich       Turnpike 

(R.  I.),  293 

Loud,    Eliphalet,    committee, 

170 
Loudon,  Mass.,  80,  175 


Loury,  Nathaniel,  landowner, 

375 

Lovel  farm,  Peru,  Vt.,  276 
Lowell,  Mass.,  156 
Lowell     Street,     Arlington, 

Mass.,  155 
Lower     Road,     Dorchester, 

Mass.,  101,  207 
Lower  Smithfield,  R.  I.,  317 
Lower   Waterford,    Vt.,    230, 

261 

Ludlow,  Vt.,  252 
Lull    Brook,    Hartland,    Vt., 

256 
Lunenburg,  Mass.,  fare  from 

Boston,  52 
Lunt,  Ezra,  stage,  125 
Luxor,  Temple  of,  43 
Lyman,  N.  H.,  228 
Lyman     Street,     Westboro, 

Mass.,  163 
Lyman  Toll  Bridge,  Monroe, 

N.  H.,  228,  271 
Lyme,    Conn.,   360,   379,   380, 

391,  405 
Lynn,  Mass.,  81 
Lynn  Hotel,  Lynn,  Mass.,  81 
Lynn    Marshes    (Mass.),    81, 

86 
Lynn  and  Boston  Street  Rail- 
way, 85 
Lynnfield,  Mass.,  123,  126 
Lyons,  Philo,  landowner,  401 


McDonough,  steamboat,  380, 
392 

Mclndoe  Falls,  Vt.,  228,  270, 
271 

McLaren  Place,  Barnet,  Vt., 
282 

McLean,  John,  set  milestones, 
148 

McLean  Asylum,  founded  by 
John  McLean,  148 

Macadam,  John,  Loudon,  6 

Machias,  Maine,  211 

Machias  Toll  Bridge 
(Maine),  211 

Macomber,  David  O.,  presi- 
dent, 240 

Mad  River,  Conn.,  348 

Mad  River  Turnpike  Co. 
(Vt.),272 

Madison,  Conn.,  385,  389 

Madison  Green,  Conn.,  385 

Madison,  Mount,  240 

Madison  Square,  Boston, 
Mass.,  184 

Madison  and  North  Killing- 
worth  Turnpike  (Conn.), 
407 

Magoun  Square,  Cambridge 
Mass.,  122 

Maiden  Cliff  (Maine),  105 

Main  road,  Boston  to  Provi- 
dence, 170 


M 

Main  Street,  Andover,  Mass., 

129 
Bolton,  Mass.,  169 
Cambridge,  Mass.,  196 
Charlestown,  Mass.,  81 
Chester,  Mass.,  201 
Concord,  Mass.,  134 
Concord,  N.  H.,  219,  231 
East  Hartford,  Conn.,  366, 

367 
Farmington,  Conn.,  360,  374 
Greenfield,  Mass.,  103 
Hartford,  Conn.,  360 
Hopkinton,  Oxford,  and 

Sutton,  Mass.,  195 
Lancaster,  Mass.,  169 
Medfield,  Mass.,  140 
Medfield,  Millis,  and  Med- 

way,  Mass.,  138 
Medford,  Mass.,  115 
Newtown,  Conn.,  374,  401 
Pawtucket,  R.  I.,  303, 304, 322 
Seymour,  Conn.,  371 
South  Coventry,  Conn.,  354 
Stamford,  Conn.,  377 
Stoneham,  Mass.,  150 
Torrington,  Conn.,  387 
Weymouth,  Mass.,  131,  132 
Williamstown,  Mass.,  67 
Willimantic  Conn.,  353,  354 
Winsted,  Conn.,  387 
Worcester,  Mass.,  158 


Main    Street    Bridge,    Keene, 

N.  H.,  222 
Main   Street  Bridge,   Nauga- 

tuck,  Conn.,  395 
Maine,  admitted  a  state,  211 
appropriations      to      assist 

turnpike,  211 
code  of  procedure,  211 
Maine's  inheritance  of  turn- 
pikes, 211 
Maine  Central  Railway,  145 
Maine  Turnpike  Association, 

127,  227 
Maiden,  Mass.,  124 
Maiden  Bridge,  124,  128 
Maiden  Road,  Saugus,  Mass., 

124 
Mall    Street,    Boston,    Mass., 

207 
Maltby  Lakes,  Conn.,  347 
Manchester,  Conn.,  344,  367 
N.  H.,  231,  246 
Va.,  17 

Vt.,  266,  273,  276,  277 
Manchester      Green,      Conn., 

343,  344 
Manchester      Turnpike      Co. 

(Vt.),  273 
Mann,     John,     landowner, 

300 
Manning's   Bridge,   Franklin, 

Conn.,  356 

[443] 


INDEX 


Manning's  Tavern,  Chelms 
ford,  Mass.,  156 

Mansfield,  Conn.,  140,  342, 
343,  353,  354,  356,  400 

Mansfield  Depot,  Conn.,  343 

Mansfield     Four     Corners. 

Conn.,  345 
Mansfield  Turnpike  Co.  (Vt.), 
283 

Mansion  House,  Greenfield, 
Mass.,  70,  103 

Manton,  R.  I.,  309 

Manton  Avenue,  Providence, 
R.  I.,  294,  309,  310 

Manufactures  commencing,  26 

Manufacturing,  eastern  Con- 
necticut, 322 
central     Massachusetts, 
322 

Maple  Avenue,  Hartford, 
Conn.,  349 

Map  of  survey  for  Boston 
and  Montreal  Turnpike, 
265 

Marblehead,  Mass.,  80 

Market  Street,  Philadelphia, 
Penn.,  13 

Marlboro,  Conn.,  359 
Mass.,  25 
N.  H.,  219 
Vt.,  253 

Marlboro  Mills,  Conn.,  359 

Marlboro,  Vt.,  gate  in,  253 

Marsh,  Sylvester,  builder 
Mount  Washington  Rail- 
way, 241 

Martin,  Michael,  highway- 
man, 115 

Martin  House,  Phillips  Beach, 
Mass.,  126 
moving  of,  126 

Maryland  Journal,  9 

Maryland,  turnpikes  in,  17 

Mashamaquet  Brook,  Pom- 
fret,  Conn.,  342 

Mashapog  Turnpike  Corp. 
(Mass.),  175 

Mason  Mill,  Mansfield,  Conn., 
345 

Massabesic  Lake,  N.  H.,  231 

Massachusetts,  act  of  1805,  31 

Massachusetts  Avenue,  Ar- 
lington, Mass.,  151,  155 

Massachusetts,  bridges  in,  17 

Massachusetts  General  Hos- 
pital, 148 

Massachusetts  Highway  Com- 
mission, 124,  129 

Massachusetts  Revised  Stat- 
utes, 1C60,  59 

Mast  Road,  Durham,  N.  H, 
218 

Mattapan,  Mass.,  147,  148 

Mayhew  Turnpike  (N.  H.), 
226,  266 

Maysville,  Ky.,  23 

Maysville  Turnpike  (Ky.), 
23,  24 

Maysville,  Washington,  Paris, 

[444] 


and  Lexington  Turnpike- 
road  Co.,  23 
Mearsmen,  38 
Mechanic  Square,  Cambridge, 

Mass.,  155 
Medfield,  Mass.,  138,  140 

gate  in,  140 
Medford,  Mass.,  114,  115,  129, 

149,  151 
Medford     House,     Medford, 

Mass.,  115 
Medford     Street,     Medford, 

Mass.,  115 
Medford   Turnpike    (Mass.), 

114,  129,  266 
Medway,  Mass.,  138,  140 
Meeker's     Mills,     Brookfield, 

Conn.,  405 
Meguntikook,    Lake.    Maine, 

105 
Meguntikook   Mountain, 

Maine,  104 
Melrose,  Mass.,  124 
Memphremagog  Turnpike 

Co.  (Vt),  283 
Mendon,  Mass.,  75,  76 
Mendon  Road,  Attleboro,  99 

gate  at,  99 
Mendon    Road,   Cumberland, 

R.  I.,  310 
Menotomy,  Mass.,  153 
Menunkatuck     River,     Guil- 
ford, Conn.,  393 
Meredith  Bridge,  N.  H.,  222 
Meriden,  Conn.,  349,  350,  384, 

385 
Meriden     Road,     Waterbury 

and  Wolcott,  Conn.,  386 
Meriden,     Southington,     and 

Compounce    Tramway 

Co.,  386 
Merrill's    Mills,    Warren, 

N.  H.,  233 
Merrimac     River,     128,     130, 

152,    156,    185,    217,    218, 

220,  231 
Merrimac    River   bridges,   85 
Methuen,  Mass.,  130 
Metropolitan    Park   Commis- 
sion, 103 
Metropolitan     Park    System, 

Middle    Cove    Green,    Conn., 

389 

Middle  Gate  (Md.),  9 
Middle  Haddam,  Conn.,  382 
Middle    Haddam    Landing, 

Conn.,  368 
Middle     River,     Machias, 

Maine,  211 
Middle    Road    Turnpike 

(Conn.),  361,  374,  405 
Middle  route,  Boston  to  New 

York.  64,  76,  342,  344 
"Middle  Turnpike"  (Conn.), 

344,  399 
Middleboro,   Mass.,   131,   132, 

182 
Middleboro    and    New    Bed- 


ford Turnpike   Corp. 

(Mass.),  182 
Middleburg,  Va.,  17 
Middlebury,     Vt,     257,     258, 

267,  276 
fare  from  Boston,  52 
Middlebury    River    (Vt), 

257 
Middlebury      Turnpike      Co. 

(Vt),  275 
Middlefield,  Conn.,  384 

Mass.,    118,    176,    199,    200, 

201 
Middlesex  Canal,  156 
Middlesex  County,  Mass.,  pro- 
ceedings in,  114,  119,  120, 

121,  124,    134,    136,    150, 
153,  158,  165,  194,  195,  203 

Middlesex  Fells,  150 
Middlesex  Turnpike  (Mass.), 

122,  150,    175,    183,    186, 
.  236,  386,  387,  389 

Middlesex  Turnpike  (Conn.), 

368 
Middleton,  Mass.,  129 
Middletown,   Conn.,  349,  368, 

380,  381,  382,  384,  386 
Middletown,     Durham,     and 

New     Haven     Turnpike 

(Conn.),  386,  387,  393 
Middletown    Upper    Houses, 

Conn.,  384 
Middletown  and  Berlin  Turn- 
pike  (Conn.),  374,  380 
Middletown    and    Meriden 

Turnpike  (Conn.),  384 
Mileage,    Alford    and    Egre- 

mont  Turnpike   (Mass.), 

168 
Andover     and     Medford 

Turnpike  (Mass.),  149 
Baltimore     and     Frederick 

Turnpike  (Md.),  17 
Baltimore  and  Reisterstown 

Turnpike   (Md.),  17 
Barre    Turnpike     (Mass.), 

192 
Bath    Turnpike     (Maine), 

144 
Becket  Turnpike    (Mass.), 

127 
Blue  Hill  Turnpike  (Mass.), 

137 
Boston  to  Hartford,  Conn., 

by  turnpikes,  343 
Boston  to  New  York,  51 
Braintree    and    Weymouth 

Turnpike    (Mass.),   115 
Camden  Turnpike  (Maine). 

104 
CheshireTurnpike  (Conn.), 

357 
Connecticut  turnpikes,  14 
Coventry    and    Cranston 

Turnpike  (R.  I.),  311 
Danville    Turnpike     (Vt), 

278 
Derby    Turnpike    (Conn.), 

347 


INDEX 


Mileage,  Dorchester  Turnpike 
(Mass.),  142 

Elijah  Paine's  (Vt.),  253 

Fairhaven  Turnpike 
(Conn.),  393 

Farmington  and  Bristol 
Turnpike  (Conn.),  361 

Farmington  River  Turn- 
pike (Conn.),  355 

Farnum  and  Providence 
Turnpike   (R.  I.),  307 

Fifteenth  Massachusetts 
Turnpike,  113 

Fifth  Massachusetts  Turn- 
pike, 70 

First  Cumberland  Turn- 
pike (Maine),  106 

Fourteenth  Massachusetts 
Turnpike,  103 

Glocester  Turnpike  (R.  I.), 
297 

Gore  Turnpike  (Mass.),  199 

Granby  Turnpike  (Conn.), 
358 

Granite  Bridge  Road 
(Mass.),  207 

Great  Barrington  and  Al- 
ford  Turnpike  (Mass.), 
186 

Greenwoods  Turnpike 
(Conn.),  349 

Groton  and  Stonington 
Turnpike  (Conn.),  300 

Haddam  and  Durham  Turn- 
pike (Conn.),  387 

Hampden  and  Berkshire 
Turnpike  (Mass.),  205 

Hartford  and  Dedham 
Turnpike  (Mass.),  140 

Hartford  to  Norwich  Turn- 
pike (Conn.),  338 

Hingham  and  Quincy  Turn- 
pike (Mass.),  178 

Hudson  Turnpike  (Mass.), 
181 

Killingworth  and  Haddam 
Turnpike  (Conn.),  386 

Lancaster  and  Bolton  Turn- 
pike (Mass.),  169 

Mayhew  Turnpike  (N.  H.), 
226 

Maysville  Turnpike  (Ky.), 
24 

Middle  Road  Turnpike 
Conn.),  374 

Middlesex  Turnpike 
(Mass.),  154 

Middletown  and  Meriden 
Turnpike  (Conn.),  384 

Moosilauke  Mountain  Road 
(N.  H.),  244 

Mount  Washington  Sum 
mit  Road  (N.  H.),  240 

National  Road,  17 

New  Bedford  and  Bridge 
water  Turnpike  (Mass.*), 
132 

Newburyport  Turnpike 
(Mass.),  124 


North      Branch      Turnpike 

(Mass.),  131 
Ninth  Massachusetts  Turn- 
pike, 75 
Nor  walk     and     Danbury 

Turnpike  (Conn.),  339 
Norwich    and    Woodstock 

Turnpike  (Conn.),  363 
Old  Roebuck  Road  (Mass.), 

27 
Pennsylvania  turnpikes,  16 
Petersham    and    Monson 

Turnpike    (Mass.),   133 
Pettipauge     and     Guilford 

Turnpike  (Conn.),  389 
Philadelphia  and  Lancaster 

Turnpike  (Penn.),  13 
Plank  roads  in  Canada,  40 
Plank  roads  in  New  York, 

40 
Pom  fret     and     Killingly 

Turnpike  (Conn.),  367 
Providence     Turnpike 

(Conn.),  394 
Providence    and    Norwich 

Turnpike  (R.  I.),  294 
Salem  Turnpike  (Mass.),  81 
Sixth  Massachusetts  Turn- 
pike, 73 
Straits   Turnpike    (Conn.), 

340 
Taunton     and     Providence 

Turnpike   (Mass.),  202 
Taunton  and  South  Boston 

Turnpike   (Mass.),  172 
Tenth  Massachusetts  Turn- 
pike, 78 
Tenth     New     Hampshire 

Turnpike,  224 
Third  Massachusetts  Turn- 
pike, 67 
Third     New     Hampshire 

Turnpike,  78 
Twelfth      Massachusetts 

Turnpike,  80 
Union    Turnpike    (Mass.), 

134  . 
Virginia  turnpikes,  17 
Warren     Turnpike     (Vt.), 

278 
White      River     Turnpike 

(Vt.),  256 
Winooski  Turnpike   (Vt.), 

268 
Woodstock     and     Somers 

Turnpike  (Conn.),  381 
Worcester       Turnpike 

(Mass.),  161 
Wrentham     and     Walpole 

Turnpike  (Mass.),  170 
Milestones,  147,  148,  149,  161, 

231.  345.  379 
Milford,  Conn.,  370 
Mass.,  75 

N.  H,  175,  183,  236 
"Milford      Pike"      (Conn.) 

370 
Milford  and  Princeton  Turn- 
pike Corp.  (Maine),  211 


Milford    Turnpike    (N.   H.), 

236 
Milford    Turnpike     (R.    I.), 

370 
Mill  Brook,  Arlington,  Mass., 

152 
Mill    Brook,    Becket,    Mass., 

200 
Mill  Creek,  Dedham,  99 

gate  near,  99 
Mill  Dam,  Boston,  Mass.,  163, 

188,  193,  195,  196 
construction  of,  190 
Mill    Plain    Pond,    Danbury, 

Conn.,  401 
Mill   River,   Fairfield,   Conn., 

376 
Hampden,  Conn.,  350 
Mill  River  bridge,  Hampden, 

Conn.,  350 
Mill  for  Sale,  7 
Millers  Falls,  Mass.,  70 
Millers  River  (Mass.),  69,  70, 

71 
Millington     Turnpike     Co. 

(Conn.),  410 
Millis,  Mass.,  138 

gate  in,  140 
Mills,  Gen.  Eliot's,  161 
Millstone  Hill,  Worcester,  161 
Milton,    Mass.,    62,    137,    146, 

147.  149,  209 
shared  cost  of  new  Granite 

Bridge,  209 
1830  map  of,  137 
Milton  Bridge,  142 
Milton    Lower    Mills,    Mass., 

137,  138,  142,  147.  206 
Mineral  Spring  Avenue,  Paw- 
tucket,  R.  I.,  321,  322 
Mineral      Spring     Cemetery, 

Pawtucket,  R.  I.,  322 
Mineral     Spring    Turnpike 

(R.  I.),  320 
Misery  Mountain,  N.  H,  231 
Mississiquoi  River  (Vt.),  272 
Mississiquoi     Turnpike     Co. 

(Vt.),  272 
Mitchell's     Tavern,     Newton 

Highlands,     Mass.,     161, 

162 
Mohawk    and    Hudson    Rail- 
road, 49 
Mohawk  Trail,  66,  104 
Mohegan,  New  London  ferry 

boat,  391 
Mohegan   Road    (Conn.),   10, 

290,  331,  334 
only  toll  road  operated  by 

public  authorities,  335 
Mohegan's      reservation 

(Conn.),  334,  335 
Monadnock  Mountain,  220 
Monadnock    Turnpike    Corp. 

(N.  H.),  248 
Monkeytown,  R.  I.,  311 
Monocasy  Creek  bridge,  20 
Monongahela  River,  17 
Monopolies,  fear  of,  135 

[445] 


INDEX 


Monroe,  Conn.,  365,  397,  404 

N.  H.,  228 
Monroe  Center,  Conn.,  398 
Monroe,  James,  21 

President,  tour  in  181 7,  95, 
344 
Monroe  and  Newtown  Turn- 
pike (Conn.),  404 
Monroe     and     Zoar     Bridge 

Turnpike  (Conn.),  397 
Monson,  Mass.,  133 
Montague,  Mass.,  69 
Montague  City  bridge,  70 
Monteith,  James,  toll  gatherer, 

270 
Monterey,  Mass.,  144 
Montgomery,  Mass.,  74 
Montpelier,  Vt.,  253,  268 

turnpike  day  in,  266 
Montpelier    and    Lamoille 
Plank    Road    Co.    (Vt.), 
284 
Montreal,  Canada,  263 
Montville,  Conn.,  335,  399 
Montville      Street     Railway, 

335 
Monument  Mountain  (Mass.), 

186 
Moosilauke    Inn,    Warren, 

N.  H.,  244 
Moosilauke  Mountain,  N.  H., 

243,  244 

Moosilauke   Mountain  Turn- 
pike (N.  H.),  243 

Moosup  River,  Conn.,  292 


Moosup     Turnpike      Co. 

(Conn.),  410 
Moretown,  Vt.,  272 
Morristown,  Vt.,  280 
Morse's     Pond,    Wellesley, 

Mass.,  195 
Moshanticutt  Pond,  R.  I.,  294 
Moshassock     Bridge,     Provi- 
dence, 317 
Moshassock  River,  early  forge 

on,  321 
Moshassock     Turnpike     Co. 

(R.  I.),  327 
Moswansicut    Pond    (R.   I.), 

313 
Motive  of  turnpike  construc- 
tion, 63 
Moulton's   Tavern,   Andover, 

N.  H.,  221 
Mount    Carmel,    Conn.,    357, 

358 
Mount  Hayes  Turnpike  Corp. 

(N.  H.),  241 
Mount  Holly,  Vt,  255 

fare  from  Boston,  52 
Mount     Lafayette     Turnpike 

Corp.  (N.  H.),  241 
Mount  Mansfield,  Vt.,  282 
Mount     Mansfield     Turnpike 

Co.  (Vt.),  282 
Mount    Prospect,    Lancaster, 

N.  H.,  247 
Mount  Prospect  Turnpike  and 

Hotel    Corp.    (N.    H.), 

247 


Mount  Tabor,  Vt.,  266 
Mount  Taber  Turnpike  (Vt.), 

266 
Mount  Vernon,  N.  H.,  236 
Mount  Washington,  238 

foot  of,  241,  242 
Mount  Washington  Railway, 

241,  242 
Mount  Washington  Road,  238 
Mount    Washington    Summit 

Road,  238 
Mount  Washington  Turnpike, 

241,  248 
Mount  Willard,  N.  H,  243 
Mount     Willard     Turnpike 

Corp.  (N.  H.),  243 
Mountain,   The,   Barnet,   Vt., 

271 
Mountain     Gap,     Ridgefield, 

Conn.,  401 
Mountain    Road,    Goffstown, 

N.  H,  245 
Mowry,    George,    tavern    of, 

308 
Muddy     River,     Brookline, 

Mass.,  160 
Munn,  Calvin,  tavern  of,  69 
Munson   Capt.  John,  common 

carrier,  349 
Musconekong  Mountain,  15 
Muster  fines,  8 
Mystic  Avenue,  Boston,  Mass., 
.       IJ4 

Mystic  marshes,  115 
Mystic  River  (Mass.),  81 


Nahant,  Mass.,  80 
Narragansett  Bay,  402 
Narragansett   River,   claimed 

as  boundary,  303 
Narrows,   Fall   River,   Mass., 

324 
Nash,     Timothy,     discovered 

Crawford  Notch,  223 
Nashua   River    (Mass.),    135, 

136 
freshet  of  181 8,  135 
Nashua    Turnpike    Corp. 

(Mass.),  176 
Nashua  and  Lowell  Railroad, 

156,  157 
Nat     Berry     Bridge,     Tam- 

worth,  N.  H.,  247 
Natchaug  River  (Conn.),  356, 

378 
Nathaniel      Arnold      Bridge, 

West   Greenwich,    R.    I., 

315 

Natick,  Mass.,  161,  166,  194 

R.  I.,  317 
Natick  Hill  (R.  I.),  310 
National  Road,  19 
Naugatuck,    Conn.,   337,   365, 
„     366,  395 

Naugatuck     Bridge,     Nauga- 
tuck, Conn.,  341,  366,  395 

[446] 


N 

Naugatuck  River  (Conn.), 
337.  340,  348,  365.  395.  409 

Navigation  of  Fore  and  Back 
Rivers,  177,  178 

Navy  Yard,  Charlestown, 
Mass.,  81,  84 

Neck,    New    London,    Conn., 

379 

Neck  Lane,  New  Haven, 
Conn.,  386 

Needham,     Mass.,     161,     165, 
194,  195.  203,  396 
1830  map  of,  195 

Needham's  stage,  95 

Negro  Lane,  New  Haven, 
Conn.,  386 

Neponset  Avenue,  Dorches- 
ter, Mass.,  103 

Neponset  Bridge  (Mass.), 
101,  103,  117,  118,  206 

Neponset  River  (Mass.),  99, 
101,  117,  142,  207 

Nequasset  Mills,  130 

Nescopeck,  Penn.,  16 

New  Bedford,  Mass.,  131, 132, 
137,  182 
fare  from  Boston,  52 

New  Bedford  and  Bridge- 
water  Turnpike  (Mass.), 
131 


New  Braintree,  Mass.,  71 

New  Britain,  Conn.,  380,  381 

New  Boston,  Sandisfield, 
Mass.,  209 

New  Canaan,  Conn.,  408 

New  Chester  and  Danbury 
Turnpike  Corp.  (N.  H.), 
248 

New  Hampshire,  129 

New  Hampshire  Turnpike, 
the,  217 

New  Hartford,  Conn.,  345, 
348,  355,  361 

New  Haven,  Conn.,  14,  51,  53, 
64,  3i6,  337,  340,  341,  346, 
347,  349,  355,  357,  365, 
366,  370,  371,  376,  380, 
386,  388,  389,  390,  392, 
395.  405.  407,  408 
fare  from  Boston,  52 
incorporated  a  city,  348 

New  Haven  Avenue,  Derby, 
Conn.,  347 

New  Haven  and  Northamp- 
ton Railroad,  358 

New  Haven  and  Mil  ford 
Turnpike  (Conn.),  370 

New  Haven  and  Seymour 
Plank  Road  Co.  (Conn.), 
408 


INDEX 


New  Ipswich,  N.  H.,  157 

fare  from  Boston,  52 
New  Jersey,  turnpikes  in,  15 
New    Found    Lake,    N.    H., 

226 
New  London,  Conn.,  io,  290, 
315.    3i6,    317,    331,    334, 

335.  350,    360,    379,    380, 
300,  391 

New  London  ferry,  292,  316, 
389.  390 

New  London  Northern  Rail- 
road, 133 

New  London,  Willimantic, 
and      Palmer     Railroad, 

I33>  335 

New  London  and  Lyme  Turn- 
pike (Conn.),  379,  391, 
392 

New  London  and  Windham 
County  Turnpike  (  Conn. ) , 

336,  354,  402 

New  Marlboro,  Mass.,  113 
New       Meadows       River 

(Maine),   144,   145 
New  Milford,  Conn.,  341,  346, 
x      364.  365,  369,  389,  399 
New   Milford   and   Litchfield 

Turnpike    (Conn.),    341, 

346,  369,  372 
New    Milford    and    Roxbury 

Turnpike  (Conn.),  399 
New    Milford    and    Sherman 

Turnpike    (Conn.).    388, 

399. 
New  Milford  and  Woodbury 

Turnpike   (Conn.),  399 
New  Orleans,  La.,  18 
New  Preston,  Conn.,  369 
New      Preston      Turnpike 

(Conn.),  369,  372 
New  York,  N.  Y.,  25,  27,  50, 

53,  64,  86,  09,   159,  259, 

276,    292,    306,   316,   331, 

336,  377,  382,  300,  391 
fare  from  Boston,  52 
New  York  Mail  Stage,  53 
New  York,  turnpikes  in,  15 
New  York  and  Harlem  Rail 

road,  409 
New  York,  New  Haven,  and 

Hartford  Railroad,  132 
New   York,   Providence,   and 

Boston  Railroad,  322, 323, 

391 
Newark,  N.  J.,  41,  42 
Newark  Marshes,  41 
Newark     Plank     Road    and 

Ferry  Co.,  42 
Newbury,  Mass.,  126 

Vt.,  249,  264.  266,  269 
Newbury     Street,     Boston, 

Mass.,  147 
Newburyport,   Mass.,    15,   63, 

114,    124,    125,    126,    159, 

235 
fare  from  Boston,  52 
Newburyport  Harbor  break- 
water, 159 


Newburyport  Turnpike 
(Mass.),  15,  123 

New  fane,  Vt.,  274 

Newgate  Prison,  Conn.,  378 

Newington,  Conn.,  349 
N.  H.,  217 

Newport,  Maine,  106 
N.  H.,  232,  235 
Penn.,  14 
R.  I.,  25,  27,  325 

Newport  Turnpike  Corp. 
(N.  H.),248 

Newport  and  Fall  River  Rail- 
road, 326 

Newton,  Mass.,  189,  203 
Penn.,  16 

Newton  Upper  Falls,  Mass., 
161,  165,  166 

Newtown,  Conn.,  365,  374, 
402,  404,  405 

Newtown  Avenue,  Norwalk, 
Conn.,  402 

Newtown  and  Norwalk  Turn- 
pike (Conn.),  397,  401, 
406 

Nichols  and  Butler,  tavern  in 
New  Haven,  Conn.,  350 

Nichols'  tavern  in  Thompson, 
Conn.,  343 

Ninth  Massachusetts  Turn- 
pike, 75,  94,  138,  140,  343, 
362 

Nippenicket  Pond,  Bridge- 
water,  Mass.,  172 

Nobody's  Road,  Cambridge  to 
Watertown,  198 

Nook  Point,  South  Boston, 
Mass.,  141,  142 

Norfolk,  Conn.,  365,  378 

Norfolk  County,  Mass.,  pro- 
ceedings in,  75,  76,  100, 
103,  117,  118,  132,  137, 
138,  147,  165,  170,  171, 
203,  209 
shared  cost  of  new  Granite 
Bridge,  209 

Norfolk    House,     Boston, 
Mass.,  97 
Dedham,  Mass.,  97 

Norfolk  and  Bristol  Turn- 
pike (Mass.),  15,  86,  138, 
170,    188,    294,    306,    310, 

343 
Norfolk    and    Bristol    Turn- 
pike    (Mass.),    contract, 
90 
Norfolk    and    Bristol    Corp., 

petition  for,  87 
Norfolk  and  Middlesex  Turn- 
pike Corp.  (Mass.),  203 
Noroton,  Conn.,  377 
Noroton  River  (Conn.),  376 
North  Abington,  Mass.,  131 
North  Adams,  Mass.,  66,  205 
North  Andover,  Mass.,  129 
North  Ashford,  Conn.,  396 
North    Attleboro,    Mass.,   25, 
27,  00,  95,  98,  17° 
tavern  in,  98 


North  Beacon  Street,  Brighton 
and  Watertown,  Mass., 
194 

North     Becket,     Mass.,     199, 

201 
North  Blandford,  Mass.,  204 
North  Bloomfield,  Conn.,  358 
North  Branch  Hoosac  River, 

205 
North     Branch     Turnpike 

(Mass.),  131 
North  Branford,  Conn.,  393 
North     Burying     Ground, 

Providence,  R.  I.,  299,  302 
North  Cambridge,  Mass.,  155 
North  Chelsea,  Mass.,  209 
North  Chelmsford,  Mass.,  156 
North  Cove,  Essex,  Conn.,  391 
North   Coventry,   Conn.,  343, 

353,  354,  382 
North  Egremont,  Mass.,  168, 

186 
North  Granby,  Conn.,  358 
North  Guilford,  Conn.,  393 
North  Haven,  Conn.,  386 
North  Kingston,  R.  I.,  306 
North  Lyme,  Conn.,  392 
North    Madison,    Conn.,   385, 

393,  407 
North    Main    Street,    Bristol, 

N.  H.,  226 
Middleton,  Mass.,  129 
Providence,  R.  I.,  302 
Randolph,  Mass.,  137,  172 
North    Parish   meeting-house 

in  Attleboro,  87 
North  Providence,  R.  I.,  299, 

300,  301,  302,  304,  306,  307, 

308,    309,    310,    318,    321, 

322,  323 
North  Scituate,  R.  I.,  313 
North  Smithfield,  R.  I.,  300 
North  Stonington,  Conn.,  316, 

390 
North      Street,      Middlefield, 

Mass.,  119 
North  Walpole,  Mass.,  95 
North  Woodstock,  N.  H.,  246 
North  Woodstock  Road,  War- 
ren, N.  H.,  244 
North  Wrentham,  Mass.,  140 
Northampton,   Mass.,   51,   67, 

73 
fare  from  Boston,  52 
Northbridge,  Mass.,  194,  195 
Northeast  Main  Street,  Doug- 
las, Mass.,  76 
Northern  Haverhill  Turnpike 

Corp.  (N.  H.),  248 
Northern     New     Hampshire, 

149 
settlement  of,  223 
Northern  Railroad,  221 
Northern    route,    Boston    to 

New   York,   50,   64,    159, 

192,  372,  399 
Northern  Turnpike  (Vt.),225, 

229,  260,  278 
Northern  Vermont,  149,  261 

[447] 


INDEX 


Northfield,  Mass.,  69,  70 
N.  H.,  245 
Vt,  252 
Northfield  Turnpike  (Conn.), 

396,  402,  406 
North  ford,  Conn.,  386 
Northwest     Main     Street, 

Douglas,  Mass.,  183 
Northwood,  N.  H.,  217 
Norton,  Mass.,  157,  175 
Norton     Turnpike     Corp. 

(Mass.),  157,  175 
Norwalk,  Conn.,  338,  339,  361, 

376,  401,  402 
Norwalk  Harbor,  Conn.,  401 


Norwalk  and  Danbury  Turn- 
pike ( Conn. ) ,  338, 361 ,  401 

Norwell,  Mass.,  115 

Norwich,  Conn.,   10,  51,  290, 
292,    315,    331,    334,    336, 
338,    345>    353.    360.    362, 
363,    388,    392,    399,    402, 
405,  407 
business  men  of,  133 
Mass.,  118 
Vt,  259.  274 

Norwich  Landing,  Conn.,  335, 
362,  398,  402 

Norwich  Post  Road,  296 

Norwichtown,  Conn.,  407 


"  Norwich  and  Essex  Turn- 
pike "  (Conn.),  392 

Norwich  and  Salem  Turnpike 
(Conn.),  391,  392,  398 

Norwich  and  Woodstock 
Turnpike    (Conn.),    362, 

Norwich  and  Worcester  Rail- 
road, 363 

Norwood,  Mass.,  95,  170 
tavern  in,  97 

Notch  Turnpike  Co.  (Vt), 
284 

Nuttings  Pond  (Mass.),  152, 
155 


Oakham,  Mass.,  71 

Ocean  Avenue,  Newburyport, 

Mass.,  1 59 
Ocean  House,  North  Chelsea, 

Mass.,  209 
Ohio,  admission  as  state,  18 
proceeds  of  land  sales,  19 
provision  for  roads,  18 
settlement,  26 
Ohio  River,  17 
Old  Colony  Railroad,  101,  142, 

208 
Old  Connecticut  Path  (Mass.) , 

25,  158,  160 
Old  Lyme,  Conn.,  391 
Old  men  of  Menotomy,  153 
Old   Orchard   Beach,   Maine, 

106,  in 
Old  Plank  Road,  Vergennes, 

Vt,  267 
Old  road  to  Plymouth,  207 
Old  Roebuck  Road   (Mass.), 

25,  26 
Old  Saybrook,  Conn.,  380 
"  Old  State,"  Conn.,  383 
Old  Town  Bridge,  Windham, 

Conn.,  353 
Old  Turnpike,  Becket,  Mass., 

78 


o 

Old    Windham,    Conn.,    383, 

397 
Oliver  Ellsworth,  steamboat, 

380,  392 
Olney,  Col.  Christopher,  294 
Olney's     Lane,     Providence, 

R.  I.,  322 
Olneyville,  R.  I.,  294 
Olneyville    Square,    Provi- 
dence, R.  I.,  309 
Oneco,  R.  I.,  294,  336 
Onion    River,    Vt,   252,    253, 

268,  272 
Onion  River  Bridge,  Vt.,  249, 

269 
illegally     bought    by    Wi- 

nooski   Turnpike,  268 
Opposition   to   Hingham  and 

Quincy  bridges,  177 
Opposition     to     Middlesex 

Turnpike  (Mass.),  150 
Opposition  to  railroad,  179 
Orange,  Mass.,  69 
tavern  in,  69 
Conn.,  348 
Orange  County,  Vt.,  263 
post  road  through,  249 
Orange  and  Corinth  Turnpike 

Co.  (Vt),  283 


Ore-bed  Turnpike  Co.  (Vt), 

283 
Orford,  N.  H.,  223 
Orford  Bridge  (N.  H.),  223, 

230 
Orford    Turnpike    (N.    H.), 

223 
Orleans  County,  Vt.,  260,  265 
Orms     Street,      Providence, 

R  I.,  299 
Orwell,  Vt,  267 
Osborne's  Mills,  West  Fitch- 
burg,  Mass.,  131 
Ossapee      Turnpike      Corp. 

(Mass.),  149,  229 
Otis,  Mass.,  76,  80,   175,   186, 

204 
Ousatonic  Turnpike  (Conn.), 

346,  374,  389 
Oxford,  Conn.,  346,  370,  392, 

397,  409 
part  of  old  Derby,  337 
England,  4 
Mass.,    25,    183,    194,    198, 

302 
Oxford    Turnpike     (Conn.), 

337,  348,  370,  371,  395 
Oyster    River    Bridge,    Lee, 

N.  H.,  218 


Paine,   Charles,   governor  of 

Vermont,  253 
Elijah,  253 

no  corporation,  252 
Paine  Road,  Scarboro,  Maine, 

no 
Paine's  Hill,  Braintree,  Mass., 

176 
Paine's  line  of  stages,  no 
Paine's  Turnpike,  268 
Palmer,  Mass.,  50,  63,  64,  192, 

351 
Palmer  Old  Center,  Mass.,  64, 

133 
Palmer's     River,     Rehoboth, 
Mass.,  203 

U481 


Palmyra,  Maine,  106 

Panton,  Vt.,  273 

Panton  Turnpike  Co.  (Vt), 
283 

Paoli,  Penn.,  14 

Paper  Mill,  Taunton,  Mass., 
202 

Parker  Hill  Quarries,  Bos- 
ton, Mass.,  189 

Parkis  Street,  Providence, 
R.  L,  317 

Partridgefield,  Mass.,  118 

Pass  of  the  Westfield,  176, 
199,  201 

Passaic  and  Hackensack  Road 
and  Ferry  Co.,  41 


Passaic  River  bridge,  41,  42 
Passenger  cars,  first  railroad, 

49 
Passumpsic,  Vt,  271 
Passumpsic  River,  Vt.,  271 
Passumpsic   Turnpike    (Vt.), 

269,  277 
Paul  Dudley  stones,  161 
Paulus  Hook.  N.  J.,  41 
Pawcatuck,  Conn.,  316 
Pawcatuck  Bridge,  Westerly, 

R.  I.,  316,  317 
Pawcatuck    River,    Westerly, 

R.  I.,  292,  315 
Pawlet  Turnpike   Co.    (Vt.), 

266 


INDEX 


Pawtucket,   R.  I.,  25,  27,  91, 
95,  100,  302,  306,  310,  318, 
320,  322,  323 
bog  iron  in,  321 
Pawtucket    Avenue,    Paw- 
tucket, R.  I.,  302 
Pawtucket  Bridge  (R.  I.),  87, 
89,  95.  100,  303,  304,  310 
half  in  Massachusetts,  303 
wholly    in    Rhode    Island, 

304 
Pawtucket  Falls,  R.  I.,  303 

early  ironworks  at,  321 
Pawtucket,  first  carding  and 

spinning  mill,  321 
Pawtucket     and     Providence 

East   Turnpike    (R.    I.), 

288,  322 
Pawtucket  River,  claimed  as 

boundary,  303 
Pawtucket  and  Taunton  Turn- 
pike Corp.  (Mass.),  205 
Pawtucket  Village,  Mass.,  295 
Pawtuxet,  R.  I.,  317,  318 
Pawtuxet  Bridge,  R.  I.,  319 
Pawtuxet    Plank    Road    Co. 

(R.  I.),  327 
Pawtuxet  River,  south  branch 

(R.  I.).  3io 
Pawtuxet  Turnpike    (R.  I.), 

288,  318 
Payne,  Daniel,  surveyor,  272 
Peabody,  Mass.,  126,  129 
Peabody  River  (N.  H.),  236, 

237 
Peabody  River  Valley,  238 
Peacedale     Turnpike     Co. 

(R.  I.),  327 
Peacham  Corner,  Vt.,  264 
Peagscomsuck,  Conn.,  352 
Peak  House,  Chocorua  Moun- 
tain, N.  H.,  247 
Pearl  Street,  Brockton,  Mass., 

172 
Brookline,  Mass.,  162,  190 
Seymour,  Conn.,  371 
Pease,  Levi,  stage,  50,  64 
Peaslee    Graveyard,    Bristol, 

N.  H.,  226 
Peeling,  N.  H.,  228 
Pegville,  Conn.,  358 
Pelham,  Mass.  71,  73,  in 
Pembroke,  N.  H.,  217,  232 
Pembroke  Street,  N.  H.,  232 
Pemigewasset  Turnpike  Corp. 

(N.  H.),  248 
Pemigewasset  Middle  Branch 

Turnpike  Corp.  (N.  H.), 

248 
Pemigewasset     Mountain, 

N.  H.,  246 
Pemigewasset  River,  226,  244 
Pemigewasset     Valley     Rail- 
road, 246 
Pennecook    Street    Bridge, 

Concord,  N.  H.,  218 
Pennsylvania,  bridges  in,  17 
Pennsylvania  Railroad,  13 
Penny  Ferry,  101 


Penobscot  River,  106 
Pepperell,  Mass.,  236 
Pequot  Path  (R.  I.),  25,  292, 

315 

Perkins,     Samuel     G.,    land- 
owner, 203 

Perkins'   tavern   in   Ashford, 
Conn.,  344 

Perkioman,  Penn.,  16 

Peru,  Mass.,  118,  119 
Vt.,  276,  277 

Peru    Turnpike     (Vt),    159, 
273,  276 

Petersburg    Road,   Williams- 
town,  Mass.,  67 

Petersham,  Mass.,  69,  133 

Petersham  and  Monson  Turn- 
pike (Mass.),  in,  133 

Petitions  for  incorporation  in 
Rhode  Island,  289 

Pettipaug,  Conn.,  389,  391 

Pettipauge     and     Guilford 
Turnpike    (Conn.),    389, 

_     391,  393 
Phaeton,  46 
Phenix,  R.  I.,  311 
Philadelphia,  II,  13,  16 
Philadelphia  and  Chester  Val- 
ley Street  Railway  Co.,  14 
Philipstown  Turnpike  Co. 

(N.  Y.),  388,  389 
Phillippe,  William,  4 
Phillips    Beach,    Swampscott, 

Mass.,  126 
Phillipston,  Mass.,  69 
Phoenix     House,     Dedham, 

Mass.,  89,  94,  97 
Picks,  37 
Pidge    Avenue,    Pawtucket, 

R.  I.,  304 
Pierce  family,  toll  gatherers, 

246 
Pierce     Farm,     Goffstown, 

N.  H.,  245,  246 
Piermont,  N.  H.,  232 
Piermont    Turnpike    Corp. 

(N.  H.),  248 
Pierpont  family,  185 
Pigeon    Hill,    Woodstock, 

Conn.,  396 
Pike,  Nathan,  leased  land  for 

tollhouse,  261 
Pike  family,  free  of  toll,  261 
Pillsbury,  Noah,  106 
Pine  Mountain  (N.  H.),  237 
Pine    Swamp,    Newburyport, 

Mass.,  126 
Pine  Swamp  Hill,  Conn.,  365 
Pine    Swamp   Road,   Sharon, 

Conn.,  372 
Pinedale,  Mass.,  70 
Pines  Bridge,  Conn.,  337,  371, 

392 
Pines      Bridge      Turnpike 

(Conn.),  374,  392 
Pinkham,    Daniel,    grant    of 

land  to,  236 
Pinkham  Grant,  N.  H.,  236 
Pinkham  Notch,  N.  H.,  237 


Pinkham  Road  (N.  H.),  236 
Pinkham    Road,    Randolph, 

N.  H.,  236 
Pinkham   Toll   Road,  yes  or 

no  (?)  237 
Piscataqua  Bridge,  N.  H.,  217, 

222 
Pistol-point     Bar,     Portland, 

Conn.,  384 
Pittsburg,  Penn.,  16,  18 
Pittsfield,  Maine,  106 

Mass.,  67,  74,  176,  199,  200, 

201 
Vt.,  263,  272 
Pittsfield    Turnpike    Corp. 

(N.  H.),  248 
Plain,  Walpole,  Mass.,  95 
Plain     Street,     Providence, 

R.  I.,  319 
Plainfield,  Conn.,  336,  352,  354 
Plainfield  Street,  Providence, 

R.  I.,  294,  296,  314 
Plains     Road,     Windham, 

Conn.,  353 
Plainville,  Mass.,  95 
Plank  road,  first,  40 
first  in  New  England,  280 
first  New  England  charter, 

280 
Newark  to  Jersey  City,  41 
incorporation,  42 
replaced,  42 
short  life  of,  280,  281 
tolls  on,  40 
Plank  roads,  34,  38 
cost,  40 

efficiency  claimed,  40 
in  Canada,  40 
in  Conn.,  43,  408 
in  N.  Y.,  40 
in  N.  J.,  41 
in  Mass.,  42 
in  N.  H.,  43 
in  Vt.,  43 
Pleasant    Street,    Boston, 
Mass.,  94 
Dorchester,  Mass.,  207 
Fall  River,  Mass.,  324 
Pawtucket,  R.  I.,  303,  322 
Willimantic,  Conn.,  383 
Pleasant  Valley,  Conn.,  355 
Pleasant  Valley  Turnpike  Co. 

(Conn.),  410 
Pleasure  carriages  in  Boston, 

27 

Plow,  old  wooden,  270 
Plum  Island,  Mass.,  159 
Plum     Island     Turnpike 

(Mass.),  42,  159,  276 
Plymouth,  Conn.,  365,  374,  375 
Mass.,  25,  98,  115,  117 
N.  H.,  226,  249 
Plymouth  Avenue,  Fall  River, 

Mass.,  324 
Plymouth  colony,  charter  of, 

303 
Plymouth  County,  117 

proceedings  in,  132 
Plymouth  Mail  Stage,  179 

[449] 


INDEX 


Pocasset,  R.  I.,  296 

Pocasset  Purchase,  Fall  River, 

Mass.,  324 
Pocumtuck  Tribe,  66 
Point  Judith,  R.  I.,  316 
Point  of  Pines,  Revere,  Mass., 

209 
Point  of  Rock,Derby,Conn.,403 
Poland    Bridge,    Plymouth, 

Conn.,  374 
Poland  River  (Conn.),  374 
Polly's  Tavern,   South   Wal- 

pole,  Mass.,  97,  98 
Pomfret,  Conn.,  140,  295,  296, 

342,    343,    345.    362,    363, 

367,  368,  378 
Vt.,  258 
Pomfret  Factory,  Conn.,  320 
Pomfret  and  Killingly  Turn- 
pike (Conn.),  367 
Pompeii,  wheel  found  in,  43 

picture  of  vehicle  in,  43 
Pond,  Virgil  S.,  170 
Pondville,  Mass.,  170 
Pontoosac  Turnpike  (Mass.), 

176,  199,  204 
money  not  the  motive,  200 
Port  Chester,  N.  Y.,  377 
Porter,  Badger  and,  51 
Portland,  Maine,  106,  114, 127, 

130,    145,    149,    224,    229, 

260,  261 
fare  from  Boston,  52 
Portland,  Conn.,  382 
Portland     and     Ogdensburg 

Railroad,  225 
Portpool,  4 
Portsmouth,   N.  H.,  51,   125, 

222,  235 
fare  from  Boston,  52 
voted  to  purchase  turnpike, 

218 
Portsmouth,  R.  I.,  298 
Portsmouth  Street,  Concord, 

N.  H.,  217,  219 
Postchaises,  44 
Post   Road,   Boston   to   New 

York,    10,    90,    170,    192, 

200,    292,    315,    331,    33s, 

336,  376,  379,  300 
Providence  to  Norwich,  in 

bad  order  as  a  turnpike, 

292 
towns    ordered    to    main- 
tain it,  293 


Potash    Brook,    Blandford, 

Mass.,  204 
Potter    Place,    N.    H.,    222, 

231 
Poughkeepsie,  N.  Y.,  369 
Poultney  Turnpike  (Vt),2S9, 

268,  276 
Pound   Street,  New  London, 

Conn.,  359 
Powder  Mill  Turnpike  (R.  I.), 

307,  308,  320,  321,  322 
Powder  Mills,  East  Hartford, 

Conn.,  343 
Powder  train,  37 
Pownall,   McAdam  Turnpike 

Co.  (Vt.),  283 
Presidential  Range,  White 

Mountains,  237 
Presque  Isle,  16 
Preston,      Conn.,     336,     402, 

403 
Preston's    Point,   Dorchester, 

Mass.,  101 
Primrose,  R.  I.,  300 
Princeton,  Maine,  211 

Mass.,  192 
Profile    House,    Franconia, 

N.  H.,  243 
Profile  and  Franconia  Notch 

Railroad,  243 
Prospect,  Maine,  106 
Prospect  Hill,  Harvard,  Mass., 

135 
R.  I.,  view  from,  317 

Prospect  Lake  (Mass.),  186 

Protection  of  investment,  186, 
188 
lack  of,  171 

Protest  by  Attleboro  men, 
100 

Protest  of  gate  by  Lexington, 
154 

Providence,  R.  I.,  15,  25,  51, 
63,  86,  95,  99,  100,  170, 
171,  176,  182,  202,  206, 
288,  290,  292,  294,  295, 
296,    299,    301,    302,    306, 

308,  309,  310,  311,  314, 
315,  317,  318,  320,  321, 
323,  324,  325,  343,  352, 
354,  373,  377,  37&,  382, 
390,  391,  397,  399,  402 

fare  from  Boston,  52 
Providence  of  1820,  288 
Providence,  Greater,  288 


Providence,     railroad     from 
Boston,  200 
old  town  of,  317 

Providence  River,  25,  27,  322 

Providence  Turnpike  (Conn.), 
313,  394,  397 

Providence,  Pawtucket,  and 
Central  Falls  Street  Rail- 
way Co.,  305 

Providence  and  Boston  Turn- 
pike Corp.   (R.  I.),  294, 

295 
Providence    and    Boston 

Branch  Railroad  Co.,  323 
Providence  and  Bristol  Turn- 
pike Corp.   (Mass.),  206, 

324 
Providence    and    Douglas 

Turnpike     (R.    I.),    183, 

288,  299,  317,  322 
Providence  and  Northampton 

Turnpike  Corp.  (Mass.), 

182 
Providence    and    Norwich 

Turnpike     (R.    I.),    290, 

292,   295,    296,    314,    315, 

325,  336,  352,  377,  402 
Providence  and  Norwich  City 

Turnpike    Co.     (R.    I.), 

325,  402 
Providence    and     Pawcatuck 

Turnpike  (R.  I.),  315,389 
Providence     and     Pawtucket 

Turnpike  (R.  I.),  95,  302, 

Providence  and  Warren  Turn- 
pike Co.  (R.  I.),  324 

Providence  and  Worcester 
Railroad,  305,  318,  323 

Providence  Turnpike  (Conn.), 
394 

Public  roads,  Middlesex 
County,  121 

Public  service,  31 

Public  service  commissions, 
early,  34,  251,  333 

Punch  Bowl  Road,  Brookline, 
Mass.,  163 

Punch  Bowl  Tavern,  Brook- 
line,  Mass.,  160,  162,  163, 
165,  188,  189,  190 

Punch  Brook,  Greenfield,  103 

Putnam,  Conn.,  308 

Putney  Turnpike  Co.  (Vt.), 
283 


Quarryville,  Conn.,  343 
Quassapaug  Lake,  Woodbury, 

Conn.,  393 
Quebec,    Arnold's    defeat   at, 

264 
Queechy  River,  Bridgewater, 

Vt.,  279 
Queen  Anne  Corner,  Mass.,  115 
"  Queen  Anne  Turnpike,"  117 
Quincy,  Josiah,  50 

[45o] 


Quincy,  Mass.,  101,  115,  117, 
118,  137,  147 
allowed  toll  on  bridges,  181 
shared  cost  of  new  Granite 
Bridge,  209 

Quincy  Avenue,  Quincy  and 
Braintree,  Mass.,  115 

Quincy  granite  quarries,  in- 
sufficient transportation, 
206 


Quincy  Point,  Mass.,  179 
Quincy  Railroad  Co.,  118 
"Quincy  Turnpike"  (Mass.), 

100 
Quinebaug,  Conn.,  396 
Quinebaug    River,    336,    354, 

368 
Quinebaug  Valley,  Conn.,  321 
Quinsigamond,  Lake  (Mass.), 

161,  164,  166 


INDEX 


Race  track  at  Lynnfield  tav- 
ern, 126 

Railroad     route    to    Albany, 
Baldwin's  map  of,  199 

Railroad,    project    Boston    to 
Providence,  99 

Railroad,  Providence  to  Wil- 
limantic,  336 

Railroads,   deemed  visionary, 
200 
early  conception  of,  323 
in  Housatonic  and  Nauga- 
tuck  valleys,  355 

Rakes,  37 

Randall,    Benjamin,    commit- 
tee, 170 
Rev.    Ephraim,   landowner, 
207 

Randolph,  Mass.,  62,  137,  138, 
172 
N.  H.,  242 
Vt.,  271 

Randolph     Avenue,     Milton, 
Mass.,  137 

Randolph     meeting-house 
(Mass.),  137 

Randolph  Turnpike  Co.  ( Vt.) , 
271 

Rankin,  Robert,  toll  gatherer, 

369 

Rattlesnake  Hill,  N.  H.,  231 
Raymond,  Joshua,  built  Mo- 

hegan  Road  (Conn.),  334 
Raynham,  Mass.,  172 
Ray   Pond,  Wilmington,  Vt., 
_     253 
Rayponda,  Lake,  Wilmington, 

Vt.,  253 
Reading,  Mass.,  128,  129,  149 
Readsboro,  Vt.,  gate  in,  253 
Readsboro     Turnpike     Co. 

(Vt.),283 
Readsboro   and   Woodford 

Turnpike  Co.  (Vt),  284 
Rebeccaites,  6 
Receipts,     Salem    gate    on 

Salem  Turnpike  (Mass.), 

86 
Redding,  Conn.,  396,  401,  402, 

406 
Reduce  tolls,  permission  asked 

to,  260 
Reduction  of  tolls   for  wide 

felloes,  61 
Reed,    Jonas,    proprietor's 

clerk,  73 
Reuben,  landowner,  154 
Reformatory,  Mass.,  134 
Registry     of     Deeds,     South 

Middlesex,  Mass.,  119 
Rehoboth,  Mass.,  89,  203,  20s 
Reisterstown,  Md.,  8 
Reisterstown Turnpike  (Md.), 

10,  17 
Relays  for  fast  messages,  96 
Report   of   commissioner    of 


R 

turnpikes  (R.  I.)»  289, 
295<  297.  307,  308,  323 

Report  of  committee  of  1869 
(R.  I.),  289,  291  29s,  297, 
3°i.  307,  308,  323 

Report  on  internal  improve- 
ment in  the  United  States, 

J4 
Reports     of     operations     re- 
quired, 59 
Reservoir    Avenue,    Provi- 
dence, R.  I.,  317 
Returns,    Alford    and    Egre- 
mont  Turnpike   (Mass.), 
168 

Andover  and  Medford 
Turnpike  (Mass.),  150 

Belchertown  and  Green- 
wich Turnpike  (Mass.), 
Ill 

Blue  Hill  Turnpike(Mass.), 
138 

Braintree  and  Weymouth 
Turnpike  (Mass.),  115, 
118 

Chelsea  Bridge  (Mass.), 
84 

Dorchester  Turnpike 
(Mass.),  142 

Douglas,  Sutton,  and  Ox- 
ford Turnpike  (Mass.), 
183 

Fifteenth  Massachusetts 
Turnpike,  113 

Fifth  Massachusetts  Turn- 
pike, 71 

First  Cumberland  Turnpike 
(Maine),  no 

Granite  Bridge  (Mass.),  209 

Great  Barrington  and  Al- 
ford Turnpike  (Mass.), 
187 

Hartford  and  Dedham 
Turnpike   (Mass.),   140 

Hinghamand  Quincy  Bridge 
and  Turnpike  (Mass.), 
179 

Housatonic  River  Turnpike 
(Mass.),  167 

Neponset  Bridge  (Mass.), 
101,  118 

Ninth  Massachusetts  Turn- 
pike, 76 

Providence  and  Pawtucket 
Turnpike  (R.  I.),  306 

Salem  Turnpike  (Mass.), 
84 

Taunton  and  South  Boston 
Turnpike  (Mass.),  173 

Third  Massachusetts  Turn- 
pike, 67 

Union  Turnpike  (Mass.), 
134 

Williamstown   Turnpike 
(Mass.),  67 
Revere,  Mass.,  85,  209 


Revised     Statutes    of     New 
Hampshire,  1830,  216 
1842,  216 
1857,  217 

Revised  Statutes  of  Vermont, 
1839,  251 

Rhode  Island   General   Stat- 
utes, 1857,  288 
1872,  288 

Rhode  Island  takes  road  for 
sufficiency  of  earnings, 
302 

Rhode  Island,  Island  of,  298 

Rhode  Island  Turnpike,  298 

Rhode  Island  and  Connecti- 
cut Turnpike  (R.  I.), 
294,  312,  3I3>  314,  320, 
321,  377 

Rhode  Island  and  Connecti- 
cut Central  Turnpike 
(R<  I.),  320,  321 

Rhodes,  Capt.  William,  store 
of,  301 

Rice  of  Hingham,  Represent- 
ative, 87 

Rich,  John  P.,  contractor,  240 

Richards,  John,  builder,  359 

Richards  Tavern,  Brookline, 
Mass.,  162 

Richardson,  Richard,  director, 
120 

Richmond,  Mass.,  78 
R.  I.,  294,  316,  317 
Va.,  17,  411 

Richmond  Street,  Providence, 
R.  I.,  318 

Richmond  Turnpike  Corp. 
(N.  H.),  248 

Ridgefield,  Conn.,  401,  408 

Riley  Hill,  Sharon,  Conn., 
372 

Riley's  Tavern,  Worthington, 
Conn.,  350 

Rimmon  Falls  Turnpike 
(Conn.),    340,    370,    388, 

Rindge     Turnpike     Corp. 

(N.H.),248 
Ripton,  Vt.,  257,  258 
Ripton   Turnpike   Co.    (Vt.), 

283 
Rising  Sun,  Penn.,  29 
River     Road,     B  ridge  water, 

N.  H.,  226 
River  Road  (R.  I.),  327 
River  Turnpike  (Conn.),  346 
Road,    Albany    to    Westfield, 
Mass.,  199 
Anthony's  store,  Fall  River, 

Mass.,  326 
Bayley-Hazen  Military,  264 
Boston  to  Albany,  204 
Brattleboro  to  Townshend, 

Vt.,  274 
Danbury     to     Newtown, 
Conn.,  406 

[451] 


INDEX 


Road,     Dedham     to    Woon- 

socket,  27 
ferry    landing   to    Bigelow 

Hall,     East     Hartford, 

Conn.,  366 
"  east,  near  Gilman's  Brook," 

East  Hartford,  Conn.,  366 
Essex  to  Salem,  Conn.,  398 
Great,  Mass.,  73 
Great,  Providence  to  Kill- 

ingly,  290 
Greenfield    to     Fairfield, 

Conn.,  376 
Hartford   to    New   Haven, 

349 
to     Hospital,     Providence, 

R.  L,  319 
to    New    Hospital,    Provi- 
dence, R.  I.,  319 
Joshua  Hyde's  in   Middle- 
bury,  Vt.,  257 
Mansfield,  Conn.,  to  Spring- 
field, Mass.,  345 
military,  in  Florida,  22 
Chicago  to  Detroit,  22 
Memphis  into  Arkansas,  22 
over  Natick  Hill,  R.  I.,  310 
New  Haven  to  New  York, 

29,  336 
New  Haven  to  Waterbury, 

Conn.,  340 
North  Attleboro  to  Wren- 

tham,  Mass.,  27 
Old  Killingly  (R.  I.),  296 
Pawtucket     (R.    I.),    old, 

304 
early,    Pawtucket   Falls   to 

iron  furnace,  321 
Plymouth   to   Naugatuck 

Bridge,  Conn.,  366 
Providence   to  Norwich, 

Conn.,  315 
Providence  to   Norwich, 

Conn.,  1712,  292 


Providence    to     Pawtuxet, 

3l8 

reservation   for,  in  land 

grants  (Vt.),  252 
Rutland  to  Fairhaven,  Vt., 

259 
north  and  south  by  Rutland 

courthouse,  263 
in  Saybrook,  Conn.,  368 
Simsbury    to     Hartford, 

Conn.,  351 
Smuggler's    Notch,    Stowe, 

Vt.,  282 
Waterbury  to  Morristown, 

Vt.,  282 
Wells  River,  Vt.,  to  Canada, 

264 
West  River  Bridge  to  mar- 
ket   on     Church     Street, 
New  Haven,  Conn.,  370 
Westcott's,  Mendon,  Mass., 

76 
Westerly  to  Mystic  River, 

Conn.,  316 
Westerly,  R.  I.,  to  Stoning- 

ton,  Conn.,  300 
Williamstown    to    Chelsea, 

Vt.,  260 
Wilmington  to  Bennington, 
Vt.,  254 
Robbery    attempted    at    toll- 
house, 96 
Robbins  Tavern,  Voluntown, 

Conn.,  403 
Roberts    Hill,    Northampton, 

Mass.,  67 
Robinson's  Tavern,  Meriden, 

Conn.,  350 
Rochdale,  Mass.,  158 
Rochester,  N.  Y.,  40 
Rockingham,  Vt.,  254 
Rocks,  The,  West  Cambridge, 

Mass.,  151,  152 
Rocky  Point,  R.  I.,  317 


Rogers    Lake,    Lyme,    Conn., 

391 
Roger  Williams  Mills,  R.  I., 

3" 
Rolf's   Lane,   Newburyport, 

Mass.,  159 
Rome,  N.  Y.,  40 
Ross'  coal  mine  (Va.),  17 
Rowley,  Mass.,  126 
Roxbury,  Conn.,  399 

Mass.,    89,    100,    142,    146, 

147,    160,    163,    164,    171, 

185,  189,  190 
hopes  of   being  a  seaport, 

170 
Roxbury  Canal  (Mass.),  169 
Roxbury  Crossing,  Mass.,  161, 

163,  185 
Roxbury  pudding  stone,  190 
Roxbury    Street,    Boston, 

Mass.,  160,  161,  164 
Royal     Exchange     Coffee 

House,  Boston,  Mass.,  86, 

89 
Royalston,  Mass.,  70,  .157 
Royalton,  Vt.,  257,  258,  271 
Royalton     and    Woodstock 

Turnpike  (Vt.),  257,  258 
Ruined    bridge,     Middlesex 

Turnpike  (Mass.),  155 
Rumney,  N.  H.,  226 
Russell,  Mass.,  73,  74,  203 
Rutland,  Mass.,  71,  73 
Vt,  220,  249,  259,  263,  272 

fare  from  Boston,  52 
Rutland  Railroad,  254,  259 
Rutland  Street  Railway,  259 
Rutland  and  Chittendon  Plank 

Road  Co.  (Vt.),  284 
Rutland     and     Stockbridge 

Turnpike  (Vt.),  263,  279 
Ryegate,  Vt.,  269 
authorized  to  buy  Passump- 

sic  stock,  270 


Sabin,  Thomas,  stage,  27 

Sachem's  Head  Harbor,  Guil- 
ford, Conn.,  393 

Saco,  Maine,  106,  140,  229 

Saco  and  Swift  River  Turn- 
pike Corp.  (N.  H.),  245 

Safferry,  Henry,  toll  gatherer, 
369 

Sage  of  Concord,  123 

St.  Albans,  Vt.,  272 

St.  Albans  and  Bakersfield 
Plank  Road  Co.  (Vt.), 
284 

St..  Albans  and  Richford 
Plank  Road  Co.  (Vt.), 
280 

St.  Anthony's  Chapel,  4 

St.  Giles',  4 

St.  Johnsbury,  Vt.,  225,  261, 
262,  269,  278 

[452] 


Salem,   Conn.,   359,   398,   399, 

405, 
not  Salem  Society,  340 
tavern  in,  399 
Mass.,   15,  63,  80,  81,   126, 

128,  129,  141 
N.  Y.,  249,  259 
Vt.,  260 
Salem    Bridge,    Naugatuck, 
Conn.,  340,  341,  365,  395 
incumbrance  on  town,  341 
Salem  Center,  Conn.,  392 
Salem  Great  Pastures,  Mass., 

81,  86 
Salem  Society,  Conn.,  340 
"Salem  Turnpike"   (Conn.), 

392 
Salem  Turnpike  (Mass.),  15, 
80,  125,  209,  211 
best  year's  business,  62 


Salem  and  Chelmsford  Turn- 
pike Corp.  (Mass.),  141 

Salem  and  Hamburg  Turn- 
pike (Conn.),  388,  391, 
392,  398,  399,  405 

"  Salem  and  Norwich  Turn- 
pike "  (Conn.),  392 

Salisbury,  Conn.,  364,  409 
N.  H.,'  220,  241 
Vt.,  249 

Salisbury   Furnace,    Conn., 

.364 

Salisbury  Plank  Road  Co. 
(Conn.),  409 

Salisbury  Turnpike  (Conn.), 
364 

Salisbury  and  Canaan  Turn- 
pike (Conn.),  363 

Salmon  Falls,  N.  H.,  227 

Sandbar,  Vt,  272 


INDEX 


Sandbar  Turnpike  Co.  (Vt.), 

272 
Sanborn  Turnpike    (N.   H.). 

245 
Sanborn's    Hill,    Hampton 

Falls,  N.  H.,  234 
Sanbornton    Turnpike    Corp. 

(N.  H.),  248 
Sandisfield,    Mass.,    76,    113, 

186,  209 
Sandwich,    N.    H.,    149.   228, 

229 
Sandwich    Turnpike    Corp. 

(N.  H.),  248 
Sandy  Beach,  Mass.,  159 
Sandy  Brook,  Conn.,  394 
Sandy   Brook   Road,   Sandis- 
field, Mass.,  113 
Sandy    Brook    Turnpike 

(Conn.),  394 
Saquituck  River,  Conn.,  339 
Saratoga  Springs,  N.  Y.,  273, 

275,  276 
Sargent's     Purchase,     Mount 

Washington,  239 
Sasco  Creek,  Conn.,  339 
Saugatuck  River  (Conn.),  376, 

396,  397,  402 
Saugatuck    Toll    Bridge 

(Conn.),  339,  376 
Saugatuck     Turnpike     Co. 

(Conn.),  339 
Saugus,  Mass.,  123,  124,  126, 

209 
Saugus  Road,  Saugus,  Mass., 

209 
Sandersville,  R.  I.,  314 
Saun  dersville  Turnpike 

(R.  I-),  314 
Savin  Hill,  Mass.,  142 
Savoy,  Mass.,  206 
Sawpits,  N.  Y.,  377 
Sawyer,  Enoch,  treasurer,  125 
Sawyer's   Bridge,  Bethlehem, 

N.  H.,  243 
Sawyer's    Hill,    Windham, 

Conn.,  356 
Saybrook  Ferry,  Conn.,  380 
Sayles,    Jeremiah,    house   of, 

302 
Scarboro,  Maine,  106,  ill,  211 

tollhouse  in,  no 
Scenita,  4 

Schuylkill  Bridge,  18,  28 
Schuylkill  River,  13,  16 
Scadding    Pond,    Taunton, 

Mass.,  172 
Scituate,  Mass.,  115 

R.    I.,    292,   295,   296,   311, 

312,  313,  314.  320 
Scotch  Woods,  Milton,  Mass., 

137 
Scott's     Pond,     Cumberland, 

R.  I.,  318 
Scott's  Tavern,  Palmer,  Mass., 

64 
Scotland,  Conn.,  354,  397 
gate  in,  397 
tollhouse  in,  397 


Scottows  Hill,  Scarboro, 
Maine,  106 

Scrabble  Hollow,  Westmin- 
ster, Mass.,  131 

Seabrook,  N.  H.,  235 

Searsburg,  Vt.,  254,  279 

Searsburg  Plank  Road  Co. 
(Vt.),  279 

Searsburg  Turnpike  (Vt.), 
254,  279,  281 

Seaver,  Ebenezer,  house  of, 
146 

Second  Brush  Hill  Turnpike 
Corp.  (Mass.),  169 

Second  Littleton  Toll  Bridge 
(N.  H.),  230,  261 

Second  Massachusetts  Turn- 
pike, 66,  103,  104,  205 

Second  NewHampshireTurn- 
pike,  129,  134,  155,  219, 
229,  232,  236 

Seekonk,  Mass.,  100,  203, 
205 

Seekonk  River  (R.  I.),  25,  27, 
202,  203 
claimed  as  boundary,  303 

Semi  Pog  Brook,  Danbury, 
Conn.,  338 

Sergeant's  Trench,  Pawtucket, 
R.  I.,  305 
mills  on,  305 

Settlements,  early,  25 

Seven  Bridge  Road,  Lancas- 
ter, Mass.,  169 

Seventh,  no  corporation  so 
named  in  Massachusetts, 

73 

Seventh  New  Hampshire 
Turnpike,  248 

Sewall,  Samuel,  set  mile- 
stones, 147 

Se wall's  Point,  Brookline 
Mass.,  188,  189 

Seymour,  Conn.,  348,  371,  409 
part  of  old  Derby,  337 

Shackstand  Hill,  Foxboro, 
Mass.,  08 

Shackstand  Tavern,  Foxboro, 
Mass.,  98 

Shares  of  stock,  personal 
property,  59 

Sharon,  Conn.,  371,  372,  383, 
384 
Mass.,  157 
Vt,  257 

Sharon  and  Cornwall  Turn- 
pike (Conn.),  383 

Sharpe's  Hill,  Westford, 
Conn.,  396 

Shaw's  Avenue,  New  Lon- 
don, Conn.,  379 

Shawmut  Avenue,  Boston, 
Mass.,  184 

Sheffield,  Conn.,  348 
Mass.,  79.  173.  345.  354 

Sheffield  and  Great  Barring- 
ton  Turnpike  (Mass.). 
173 

Sheffield    and    Tyringham 


Turnpike     (Mass.),    141, 

144 

Shelburne,  Mass.,  103 
Shelburne    Mountain,    Mass., 

104 
Shelburne    and    Hinesburg 

Turnpike  Co.  (Vt.),  284 
Shepard,    Eldad,    landowner, 

348 
Sherburne,  Vt.,  272,  279 
Sherburne    Turnpike     (Vt.), 

272,  279 
Sherman,  Conn.,  406 
Sherman  and  Redding  Turn- 
pike (Conn.),  406 
Shetucket  River  (Conn.),  336, 

353,  356,  402 
Shetucket  Turnpike  (Conn.), 

325,  402 
Shetucket  Valley,  Conn.,  321 
Ship  Street,  Providence,  R.  I., 

319 
Shirley,  Mass.,  176 
Shoreham,  Vt.,  267 
Shore  Line,  New  York,  New 

Haven,    and     Hartford 

Railroad,  389,  391 
Shore  route,  Boston  to  New 

York,  64 
Shortest-lived  road,  195 
Shovels,  37 

special   shop   for  manufac- 
ture, 91 
Shrewsbury,    Mass.,    73,    161, 

255 
might   operate   toll   bridge, 

166 
Shunpike,   32,    138,    145,    162, 

173,  192,  360 
forbidden,  79 
penalties  for,  32 
Shunpike    Bridge,    Hampton, 

N.  H.,  234 

Sign,  rates  of  toll,  Glocester 
Turnpike  (R.  I.),  297 

Silver  dollars,  shipment  of,  98 
stuck  in  the  mud,  98 
left  over  night,  98 

Silver  Hook  Road  (R.  I.), 
327 

Simpaug  Turnpike  Co. 
(Conn.),  410 

Simsbury,  Conn,,  345 

Sixteenth  Massachusetts 
Turnpike  Corp.,  113,  187 

Sixth  Massachusetts  Turn- 
pike, 71,  75,  133 

Sixth  New  Hampshire  Turn- 
pike, 70,  222 

Slack,  Eliphalet,  91 
Samuel,  91 

Slater,    Samuel,    cotton    fac- 
tory, 108 
plans    for    first    American 
textile  machines,  321 

Slater  Branch,  Providence 
and  Douglas  Turnpike 
(R.  I.),  299,  300 

Slatersville,  R.  I.,  300 

[453] 


INDEX 


Sledge,  43 

Sleds,  49 

Sleeper,  Moses,  sold  land  for 

tollhouse,  226 
Rev.  Walter,  toll  gatherer, 

226 
"  Sleigh  of  burthen,"  216 
Sleighs,  49 
Smelt  Brook,  104 
Smith,  Richard,  foundryman 

364 
Smith     Street,     Providence, 

R.  I.,  308 
Smithfield,  R.  I.,  297,  209,  300, 

307,  317 
Smithfield    and    Glocester 

Turnpike  (R.  I.),  320 
Smithfield   Avenue,   Provi- 
dence, 318 
Smithfield  Road,  Cumberland, 

R.  I.,  318 
Smithfield     Turnpike     Co. 

(R.  I.),  299,  317 
Smugglers'     Notch     Road 

(Vt.),  282 
Snigger's  Gap,  Va.,  7 
Snow's  mill  pond,   Eastford, 

Conn.,  378 
Snow's    Pond,    Belchertown, 

Mass.,  in 
Sockanosset  Reservoir,  R.  I., 

317 
Soldiers'    Home,    Noroton, 

Conn.,  377 
Somers,  Conn.,  192,  381,  400 
Somers  Street,  Conn.,  381 
Somerset,  Penn.,  16 

Vt.,  281 
Somerville   Avenue,    Cam- 
bridge, Mass.,  155 
Somersworth,  N.  H.,  227 
South   Attleboro,   Mass.,   26, 

27,  90 
tavern  in,  08 
South  Berwick,  Maine,  227 
South  Boston,  Mass.,  141, 142, 

144 
South     Bridgewater,     Mass., 

fare  from  Boston,  52 
South  Brimfield,  Mass.,  158 
South  Canaan,  Conn.,  355 
South   Cove,   Boston,   Mass., 

141 
South  Coventry,  Conn.,  353 
South  Danbury,  N.  H.,  231 
South  Danvers,  Mass.,  129 
South  Egremont,  Mass.,  168 
South  End,  Boston,  121,  184 
South   Gore,   Oxford,   Mass., 

198,  302 
South  Kent,  Conn.,  369 
South   Killingly,    Conn.,   313, 

394 
South  Londonderry,  Vt,  277 
South  Main  Street,  Fall  River, 

Mass.,  326 
Middleton,  Mass.,  129 
Waterbury,  Conn.,  386 
South  Portland,  Maine,  no 

[454] 


South  Scituate,  R.  I.,  294 
South  Shore  Railroad,  115 
South     Street,     Middlefield, 

Mass.,  119 
South  Walpole,  Mass.,  95,  99 

gate  in,  99 

taverns  in,  97 

division  of  business,  97 
South  Weymouth,  Mass.,  131 
South  Wilton,  Conn.,  339 
Southboro,  Mass.,  161 
Southbridge,  Mass.,  fare  from 

Boston,  52 
Southbury,    Conn.,    337,   346, 

374,  404,  409 
Southgate,  Horatio,  treasurer, 

106,  no 
Southington,  Conn.,  357,  358, 

386 
Southington   Avenue,   South- 
ington, Conn.,  386 
Southington    and    Waterbury 

Turnpike  (Conn.),  385 
Southwick,  Mass.,  187,  199 
Southern  Division  Boston  and 

Maine  Railroad,  221 
Southern     New     Hampshire, 

141,  150,  176,  186 
Southeast    Street,    Hinsdale, 

Mass.,  119 
Southeastern  Vermont,  150 
Southwest   Main    Street, 

Douglas,  Mass.,  76 
Special     laws,    Connecticut, 

compilation  of,  347 
Specifications,    Norfolk    and 

Bristol  Turnpike,  90 
Specification  for  plank  road, 

408 
Spectacle    Pond,    Cheshire, 

Conn.,  409 
Spot  Pond  (Mass.),  150 
Spotsylvania  County,  Va., 

erected  gates  on  Freder- 
icksburg-Richmond   road 

to    provide    for    mainte- 
nance, 411 
Sprague's  Tavern,  Smithfield, 

R.  I.,  308 
Spragueville,  R.  I.,  308 
Spring  elliptic,  47 
Springfield,  Mass.,  25,  51,  64, 

I59>  167,  176,  192,  199,200, 

204,  345.  372,  373 
fare  from  Boston,  52 
Springfield  Street  Railway,  75 
Springfield  and  Longmeadow 

Turnpike  Corp.  (Mass.), 

137 
Spring  Street,  Roxbury,  99 
Springs,  steel,  44 
Spring's  Tavern  in  Ashford, 

Conn.,  344 
Sprout,  Zebidee,  house  of,  263 
Stafford,  Conn.,  133,  159,  356, 

372,  381,  400 
Mass.,  51,  S3 
Stafford     Mineral     Spring, 

Conn.,  372 


Stafford    Mineral    Spring 

Turnpike    (Conn.),    356, 

372 
Stafford     Pool     Turnpike 

(Conn.),    158,    356,    367, 

372 
Stafford     Street,     Worcester 

and  Leicester,  Mass.,  159 

Stages,  hour  of  departure,  52 

in     and     out     of     Boston, 

Mass.,  1801,  51 
1825,  51 
1832,  53 
Boston   to    Albany,    Mass., 

69,  169,  204 
Boston    to    Bellows    Falls, 

Vt.,  220 
Boston    to    Bristol    Ferry, 

R.  I.,  26 
Boston  to  Concord,  Mass., 

121 
Boston  to  Hartford,  Conn., 

195,  396 
Boston    to    Montreal,    260, 

265 
Boston    to    New    Bedford, 

132 
Boston    to    New    London, 
Conn.,  390 

continued    in    winter    to 
New  Haven,  390 
Boston   to   New  York,  48, 

50,  64,  86 
Boston     to     Newburyport, 

125 
Boston  to  Northfield,  Mass., 

69 
Boston     to     Portsmouth, 

N.  H.,  27,  125 
Boston   to   Providence,  27, 

86,  88 
Boston   to   Providence  via 

Walpole,  95 
Boston  to  Salem,  Mass.,  80 
Dearborn     and     Emerson, 

Boston  to  Walpole,  N.H., 

79         '  . 

coaches  in  England,  44 
Concord,  49 
egg-shaped,  48 

register,  51 

Brattleboro,  Vt.,  and  Dart- 
mouth College,  258 

Calves  Island  to  New  Lon- 
don, Conn.,  380 

Concord  to  Boston,  1825,  52 

Ely's   Wharf   to    Norwich, 
Conn.,  392 

England,  44 

Hartford  to  New  London, 
Cr>nn.,  359 

Massachusetts,  337 

New  England,  48,  51,  53 

New   York  to  Boston,  27, 
28 

New  York  to  Philadelphia, 

27 
Norwich.  Conn.,  to  Spring- 
•  field,  Mass.,  345 


INDEX 


Stages,  Paine's  line,  no 
Philadelphia    to    Baltimore 

in  1795,  47 
Providence    to    Pawtucket, 

305  ^      , 

Providence   to   Pomfret, 

Conn.,  308 
Sabin's,  27 
Stamford,    Conn.,    376,    377, 

408 
Stamford  (Conn.),  Turnpike 

through  cemetery,  376 
Stamford,  New  Canaan,  and 
Ridgefield     Plank     Road 
Co.  (Conn.),  408 
Stamford  Turnpike  Co.  (Vt.), 

283 
Stamford    and    Readsboro 
Plank  Road  Co.  (Vt),  284 
Staples,    Samuel,    endowed 

academy,  401 
Starkweather,    Ephraim,    in- 
corporator, 87 
Starr  King  Mountain,  N.  H., 

246 
Starr  King  Mountain  Turn- 
pike Corp.  (N.  H.),  246 
State  house,  Concord,  N.  H., 

219 
State     Street,     Newburyport, 
Mass.,  123,  125,  126 
New  Haven,  Conn.,  386 
New  London,  Conn.,  359 
Station  staves,  38 
Stavers,  John,  stage,  125 
Steamboats,       Connecticut 
River  to  New  York,  380 
New  London  to  Hartford, 

Conn.,  360 
New  London  to  New  York, 

316 
New  York  to  Jersey  City, 

N.  J.,  42 
New     York     to     Newark, 

N.  J.,  42 
New  York  to   Providence, 
R.  I.,  09 
Steamboat   Hotel,    Attleboro, 

Mass.,  88,  89,  08 
Steeple     Street,     Providence, 

R.  L,  315 
Steere,    Stephen   and    Elisha, 

bought     Farnum     Turn- 
pike, 307 
Stepney  Depot,  Conn.,  398 
Steps,  Mount  Carmel,  Conn., 

358 
Sterling,  Conn.,  336,  402 
Sterling     Turnpike     Corp. 

(Mass.),  199 
Sterling    and    Adams    Mills, 

Warren,  Vt,  278 
Stevens  Village  Toll   Bridge 

(N.   H.),   230,   270,   271, 

350 
Steward,    Gen.    John,    house 

of,  254 
Still  River  (Conn.),  388 
Mass.,  136 


Still  River  Turnpike  (Conn.), 

387,  394 
Stock,  paid  for  in  work,  312, 

315 
Stockbridge,  Mass.,  113,  106, 

173,  I7S.  191 
1830,  map  of,  175 
Vt,  263 
Stockbridge     Center,     Mass., 

166 
Stockbridge  Mountain,  167 
Stockbridge  Road,  Lee,  Mass., 

78 
Stockbridge    Street,    West 

Stockbridge,  Mass.,  167 
Stockbridge    Turnpike    Corp. 

(Mass.),  173 
Stockholders'  liability,  282 
Stockwell,  Emmons,  pioneer, 

223 
Stoddard    Turnpike    Corp. 

(N.  H.),248 
Stokes     Street,     Olneyville, 

R.  I.,  294 
Stone,  Ephraim,  director,  70 
Col.    Nathaniel,   house    of, 

314 
Stone  Bridge,  R.  I.,  325 
Stone  Bridge  and  Fall  River 

Turnpike  (R.  I.),  325 
Stoneham,  Mass.,  149 
Stonington,  Conn.,  315,  390 
Stony  Brook,  Roxbury,  Mass., 

185 

Storm  of  1826,  224,  225,  230 

Stoughton,  Mass.,  25,  171 

Stoughton  Hall,  Harvard  Col- 
lege, 119,  122 

Stoughton  Street,  Boston,  207 

Stoughton  Turnpike  (Mass.), 
148,  170 

Stow,  Mass.,  169 

Stowe,  Vt.,  280,  282 

Stowe,  Squire,  house  of, 
184 

Strabo,  4 

Strafford,  Vt,  274 

Strafford  Turnpike  Co.(Vt), 
274 

Straight  line,  34,  89,  120,  123, 
127,    129,    130,    131,    132, 
151,    158,    161,    166,    169, 
203,    205,    206,    209,    216, 
219,    321,    324,    349,    360, 
380,  390,  405 
absence  of,  127,  167 
directly  opposite,  282 
folly  demonstrated,  372 
omitted,  146 
opposition  to,  370 
variation  allowed,  176 

Straits,  Conn.,  340 

Straits  Turnpike  (Conn.), 
340,  355,  395,  366,  370, 
37*,  374,  375,  388 

Straitsville  post  office,  Conn., 
340 

Stratfield  and  Weston  Turn- 
pike Co.  (Conn.),  409 


Stratton,  Vt.,  274 
devoted  to  growth  of  tim- 
ber, 274 

Stratton  Mountain,   Vt,  274, 
275 

Stratton  Mountain  Club(Vt), 

275 
Stratton  Turnpike  (Vt),  274, 

276 
Stratton  Village,  Vt.,  274,  275 
Streeter    Tavern,     Upper 

Water  ford,  Vt.,  262 
Strong,     Maj.-Gen.     Samuel, 

267,  273 
Sturbridge,    Mass.,    158,    159, 

362 
Sturbridge    and    Western 

Turnpike  Corp.  (Mass.), 

176 
Sturges,     Jonathan,     land- 
owner, 376 
Subscriptions    for    repair    of 

roads,  290 
Sudbury,  Mass.,  52,  169,  173 

Vt.,  259,  260 
Suffield,  Conn.,  378 
Suffolk   County,   shared   cost 

of   new   Granite   Bridge, 

209 
Suffolk  Street,  Boston,  Mass., 

184 
Sugar  Hollow,  Conn.,  401 
Sugar    Hollow    Road,    Dan- 
bury,  Conn.,  361 
Sugar     Hollow     Turnpike 

(Conn.),  361,  401 
Sugar  River,  Vt,  263 
Sullivan  Square,  Charlestown, 

Mass.,  129 
Sullivan     Square     Terminal, 

Charlestown,   Mass.,  115 
Sumner's  Ferry,  Vt,  263 
Summit  House,  Mount  Mans- 
field (Vt),  282 
Sunapee    Turnpike    Corp. 

(N.  H),  (2),  248 
Sunset    Avenue,    Providence, 

R:  L,  314 
Superintendent,  Hingham  and 

Quincy  Turnpike,  178 
Supervision  of  turnpikes,  34, 

251,  333 
Supreme     court     award     to 

Hingham    and    Quincy 

Corp.,  181 
Supreme     court     of     United 

States  decree  on  Massa- 
chusetts-Rhode   Island 

boundary,  303 
Surface,  Norfolk  and  Bristol 

Turnpike  (Mass.),  91 
Surfacing,  36 
Surrey,  N.  H.,  232 
Surveys  for  railroads,  200 
Susquehanna   River,    16,   345, 
_      348,  355 
Susquehanna  Valley,  n 
Sutton,   Mass.,   183,   185,   194, 

195,  201 

[455] 


INDEX 


Sutton  Road,  Webster,  Mass., 

195 
Swampscott,  Mass.,  120 
Swanzey,  N.  H.,  222 


Swift,  John,  house  of,  137 
Swift's  Bridge,  Conn.,  383,  384 
Swift's  Corner,  Milton,  Mass., 
137 


Sykes,  Joseph,  stage,  50 
Symmes'  Corner,  Mass.,  151 
Syracuse,  N.  Y.,  40 
Syria,  4 


Taft's     Tavern,     Uxbridge, 

Mass'.,  76 
Talcott,  Joseph,  house  of,  354 
Talcott    Mountain    Turnpike 

(Conn.),    80,    345,    348, 

355,  358,  361 
Tamworth,  N.  H.,  237,  247 
Tar  Bridge,  Olneyville,  R.  I., 

294,  309 
Tariffville,  Conn.,  358 
Taunton,   Mass.,   25,  51,   137, 
144,    148,    171,    172,    187, 
202,  325 
fare  from  Boston,  52 
Taunton  Avenue,  East  Provi- 
dence, R.  I.,  203 
Taunton    Green,    Mass.,    137, 

171,  202,  203,  205 
Taunton  and  Dighton  Turn- 
pike Corp.   (Mass.),  187 
Taunton    and    New    Bedford 

Turnpike  (Mass.),  137 
Taunton     and      Providence 

Turnpike  (Mass.),  202 
Taunton    and    South    Boston 
Turnpike     (Mass.),    144, 
148,  171 
Tavern   in   Andover,   N.   H., 
221 
Ashford,  Conn.,  344 
Attleboro,  Mass.,  88 
Bedford,  Mass.,  156 
Boston,  Mass.,  88 
Boston  Turnpike   (Conn.), 

343 
Bridgewater,  N.  H.,  227 
Brookline,  Mass.,  160,  162 
Bugbee's,  Dorchester,  Mass., 

147 
Canaan,  N.  H.,  231 
Chapin's,    Oliver,    Orange, 

Mass.,  69 
Chelmsford,  Mass.,  156 
Coventry,  Conn.,  344 
Dedham,  Mass.,  97 
East  Hartford,  Conn.,  344 
Eliot  Square,  Boston,  Mass., 

97 
Foxboro,  Mass.,  98 
Franklin,  Conn.,  356 
Gloucester,  R.  I.,  297 
Greenfield,  Mass.,  69 
Hampton,  N.  H.,  235 
Hartford,  Conn.,  344 
Hawes,  Ichabod,  203 
Henry,  Colonel,  199 
Hoosac  Mountain,  205 
Keene,  N.  H.,  219 
Kendall's,  Jonas,  69 
Leominster,  Mass.,  69 
Lippitt,  R.  I.,  311 

[456] 


Lower  Waterford,  Vt.,  262 
Lynnfield,  Mass.,  126 
Manchester    Green,    Conn., 

344 
Mansfield,  Conn.,  344,  356 
Mansfield     Four     Corners, 

Conn.,  345 
Mclndoe  Falls,  Vt.,  271 
Meriden,  Conn.,  350 
Munn's,  Calvin,  69 
Needham,  Mass.,  165 
New  Bedford  and  Bridge- 
water  Turnpike,  132 
New  Haven,  Conn.,  350 
New  London,  Conn.,  359 
Newton,  Mass.,  163 
Newton   Highlands,  Mass., 

162 
Newton  Upper  Falls,  Mass., 

163 
Norfolk  and  Bristol  Turn- 
pike, 97,  98 
North  Attleboro,  Mass.,  98 
North  Haven,  Conn.,  350 
Norwood,  Mass.,  97 
oldest  in  Bristol  County,  89 
Orange,  Mass.,  69 
Palmer,  Mass.,  64 
Plum  Island,  Mass.,  159 
Pomfret,  Conn.,  343 
Providence,  R.  I.,  325 
Roxbury,  Mass.,  147 
Salem,  Conn.,  309 
Smithfield,  R.  I.,  308 
South  Attleboro,  Mass.,  98 
South  Walpole,  Mass.,  97 
Spragueville,  R.  I.,  308 
Straits  (Conn.),  340 
swine  and  drivers,  205 
Thompson,  Conn.,  343 
Topsfield,  Mass.,  126 

moving  of,  126 
Upper  Waterford,  Vt.,  262 
Uxbridge,  Mass.,  76 
Voluntown,  Conn.,  403 
Wallingford,  Conn.,  350 
Webster's,  227 
Westboro,  Mass.,  163 
Wethersfield,  Conn.,  350 
Willington,  Conn.,  344 
Worthington,  Conn.,  350 
Taxation  of  stock,  291 
Taylor,  William,  petitioner,  78 

surveyor,  196 
Taylors  River   (N.  H.),  234, 

235 
Telegraph,  anticipation  of,  96 
Telford,  6 
Temple  Bar,  4 
Temple   Street,   New  Haven, 

Conn.,  351,  357 


Templeton,  Mass.,  69,  157 

Ten  Mile  River  (Mass.),  89 

Ten  Rod  Road  (R.  I.),  306, 
402 

Tennyville,  Mass.,  133 

Tenth  Massachusetts  Turn- 
pike, 76,  128,  166,  175, 
355,  358,  38S 

Tenth  New  Hampshire  Turn- 
pike, 223,  229,  230,  233, 
237,  238,  241,  261 

Termination  of  franchises, 
efforts  to  provide,  333 

Terrill,     Irijah,     house     of, 

„,     340 

Thames    River,    Conn.,    292, 

315,  316,  389 
Thayer's  Mills,  West  Stock- 

. bridge,  Mass.,  182 
Thebes,  43 
Thetford,  Vt.,  259 
Third    Massachusetts    Turn- 
pike, 67,  149,  254    I 
Third  New  Hampshire  Turn- 
pike,   78,    157,   219,   222, 

232,  256 
Thirteenth     Massachusetts 

Turnpike,  80 
Thomaston,  Conn.,  365 
Thompson,    Conn.,    75,     140, 

194,    342,    343,    362,    373, 

380,  396 
Thompson,    J.    M.,    awarded 

illegal  damages,  239 
Samuel,  tavern  of.  356 
Thompson's    Bridge,    New 

Haven,  Conn.,  371 
Thompson's    Corner,    Farm- 

ington,  Conn.,  360 
Thompson  Hill,  Conn.,  373 
Thompson  Turnpike  (Conn.), 

315,  373,  380 
Thornton,  N.  H.,  228 
Three  Mile  Hill,  Great  Bar- 

rington,  Mass.,  113 
Three   Mile   River,  Taunton, 

Mass.,  203 
Three    Mile    Stone,    Boston, 

Mass.,  161 
Tinmouth  Turnpike  Co.  ( Vt.) , 

283 
Tioga  River,  16 
Tip  Top  House,  Moosilauke 

Mountain,  N.  H.,  244 
Tipping  Rock,  White  Moun- 
tains, 237 
Titicut,  Mass.,  131 
Baptist  Church,  132 
tavern  in,  132 
Tiverton    Print  Works,   Fall 

River,  Mass.,  326 


INDEX 


Todd,  Major  William,  tavern 

of,  219 
Toll,  commuted,  94 

by  the  county,  7,  9,  10,  117, 
411 

divided  by  number  of  gates, 
250 

division  of,  168 

earliest  form  of,  3 

exemption    for    mail    car- 
riers, 24,  363 

exemptions,  13,  59.  147,  251, 
287,  332,  334 

gatherers  under  oath,  221 

increased,  140 

on  mileage  basis,  13,  215 

rates     of,     on     Lancaster 
Turnpike,  12,  13 
in  Massachusetts,  58 
on      Mohegan      Road 

(Conn.),  335 
in  New  Hampshire,  215 
on  plank  roads,  40 
on  plank  roads   (Conn.), 

408 

on    Reisterstown    Turn- 
pike, 9 

in  Rhode  Island,  287 

in  Vermont,  250 
Tollgate,  see  Gate 
Toll  Gate  Cemetery,  Boston, 

Mass.,  94 
Tollgate    Hill,    Greenwich, 

Conn.,  376 
Toll  Gate  Inn,  Boston,  Mass., 94 
Toll    Gate    Station,    Boston, 

Mass.,  94 
Toll    Gate    Way,    Boston, 

Mass.,  94 
Tollhouse,  Back  River  Bridge 

(Mass.),  178 
Bath    Turnpike     (Maine), 

MS 
Blandford,  Mass.,  204 
Chelmsford,   Mass.,  156 
Mansfield     Four     Corners, 

Conn.,  345 
Neponset  Bridge,  103 
near  Newton  Upper  Falls, 

Mass.,  163 
Newtown,  Conn.,  365 
Providence  and  Pawtucket 

Turnpike  (R.  I.),  304 
Raynham,  Mass.,  173 
robbery,  attempted,  96 
Saybrook,  Conn.,  369 
Scarboro,  Maine,  no 
Windham     and     Brooklyn 

Turnpike   (Conn.),  397 
Woonasquatucket      Turn- 
pike  (R.  I.),  310 
Tollhouses,    permission   to 

erect  at  gates,  341 
Tolland,  Conn.,  158,  192,  194, 

195.    366,    367,    372,    383, 

396,  399,  400 
Mass.,  76,  187,  199 
Tolland      County     Turnpike 

(Conn.),  383 


Tolland  Street,  Conn.,  400 
East  Hartford,  Conn.,  343, 

367 

Tolland  and  Mansfield  Turn- 
pike  (Conn.),  192,  399 

Tolland  and  Otis  Turnpike 
Corp.  (Mass.),  199 

Tolls,  Henry,  incorporator, 
262 

Tom,  Mount,  Litchfield, 
Conn.,  342 

Tomlinson  Victory,  sole 
owner  of  Waterbury 
River  Turnpike  (Conn.), 
366 
arrested  for  vagrancy, 
366 

Tommy  Lyon  Hill,  Wood- 
stock, Conn.,  306 

Topsfield,  Mass.,  126 

Topstone,  Conn.,  339 

Toronto,  40 

Torrington,   Conn.,   361,   362, 

365,  371,  387,  388 

Torrington  Turnpike  (Conn.) , 
361 

Torrington  and  Winchester 
Street  Railway,  387 

Tourists  to  White  Moun- 
tains, 242 

Tower  Light  Battery,  306 

Town,  Ithiel,  bridge  builder, 

35° 
Salem,  senator,  64,  87 

Town  landing,  North  Provi- 
dence, R.  I.,  321 

Town,  lattice  truss  bridges, 
255.  350 

Towns,  might  acquire  roads 
and    collect    toll     (Vt.), 

251 

Townsend,  Mass.,  78 
Townsend    Plain,    Mass., 

157 
Townsley,     Calvin,     director, 

70 
Tracy,      Cynthia,      married 
Joshua  Hyde,  338 

Uriah,  senator,  19 
Trade    expected    from    New 

Hampshire,   183 
Trading  Cove  Bridge,  Conn., 

335 
Traffic  on  Norfolk  and  Bris- 
tol    Turnpike     (Mass.), 
amount,  92 

character,  92 

by  seasons,  92 

Boston  to  Lowell,  157 

between  Boston  and  Provi- 
dence, 100 

Cornish  Bridge,  236 

Hartford  and  New  Lon- 
don Turnpike  (Conn.), 
359 

Mohegan  Road  (Conn.), 
334 

New  Bedford  and  Bridge- 
water  Turnpike,  132 


Petersham      and      Monson 

Turnpike    (Mass.),   133 
Second     New     Hampshire 

Turnpike,  129,  219 
Tenth     New     Hampshire 
Turnpike,  224 

Tragedy    at     Grout's     Mills, 
Vt,  275 

Trail,   Canterbury,   Conn.,   to 
Greenwich,  R.  I.,  352 

Transit,  engineer's,  38 

Transition,    attempted,    turn- 
pike to  railroad,  322 

Transportation  in  United 
States,  1800,  26 

Traveller,  Boston,  51 

Tremont      Street,     Boston, 
Mass.,  160,  164 

Trenton,  N.  J.,  15,  16 

Tricks  of  contractors,  65 

Trimtown,  R.  I.,  313 

Tripptown,  R.  I.,  307,  309 

Trumbull,    Conn.,    365,    398, 
400 

Tucker  Bridge,  Bellows  Falls, 
Vt,  255 

Tucker's    Ferry,    Concord, 
N.  H.,  218 

Tuckerman's    Ravine,    White 
Mountains,  237,  238 

Tudor,     William,     president, 
125 

Tully  River,  Mass.,  70 

Turkeys,  flock  of,  233 

Turner,     James,     contractor, 
229 
Stephen,  house  of,  353 

Turner  Hill,  Wrentham,  98 

Turners  Falls,  Mass.,  70 

Turnpikes,  abolition  in  Eng- 
land, 6 
approval    of    construction, 

58 

cause  of  failure,  35 

cost,  see  Costs 

definition,  3 

derivation  of  word,  3 

era  commenced  in  Massa- 
chusetts, 63 

ended  in  Massachusetts, 
63 

began    in     New    England, 

35 
ended    in     New    England, 

35 
expectations,  35,  61 
extent  in  England,  5 
First  English  Act,  4 
First  in  America,  7 
First  in  England,  4 
First  in  Virginia,  7 
franchises,  33 
Connecticut  practice,  33, 331, 

332 
grades,  34,  36 
investment,  62 
layout  of  road,  57 
penalty  for  bad  order,  59 
poor  investments,  396 

[457] 


INDEX 


Turnpikes,  procedure  to  make 
public,  59 

realization,  35 

to  revert  to  the  public,  35 

straight,  34 

see  also  "  Straight  line  " 

surfacing,  36 

supervision  over,  34, 251,  333 

types,  34,  35 
Turnpike  station,  Boston  and 
Maine  Railroad,  155 


Turnpike  station,  New  York, 
New   Haven,   and   Hart- 
ford Railroad,  132 
Turnpike     Street,     Canton, 
Mass.,  171 
Easton,  Mass.,  172 
South   Boston,   Mass.,   142, 

144 
Stoughton,  Mass.,  172 
Twaddle,  Deacon,  Barnet.Vt, 
269 


Twelfth  Massachusetts  Turn- 
pike, 79,  168,  175,  187, 
345,  379 

Tyngsboro,  Mass.,  151,  152, 
154,  156,  236 

Tyringham,  Mass.,  144,  186, 
209 

Tyringham  and  Lee  Turn- 
pike Corp.   (Mass.),  144 

Tyringham  and  Sandisfield 
Turnpike  Corp.  186,  209 


Uncanoonuc  Incline  Railway 

and  Development  Co.,  246 
Uncanoonuc  Mountain,  N.H., 

245,  246 
Uncanoonuc   Road    (N.   H.), 

245 
Unkamet     Street,     Pittsfield, 

Mass.,  67 
Union,  Conn.,  194,  396 
Union      Avenue,      Ashland, 

Mass.,  195 
Union    House,    North   Attle- 

boro,  Mass.,  98 
Union     Station,     Providence, 

R.  I.,  322 


u 

Union     Street,     Willimantic, 

Conn.,  353 
Union  Turnpike  (Mass.),  52, 

133,  169 
Union    Turnpike     (N.     H.), 

229 
Union  Village,  R.  I.,  300 
United  States,  postal  routes, 

18 
Upper  Bridge,  Milton,  Mass., 

146 
Upper      Connecticut     valley, 

149,  270 
Upper  Coos  Turnpike   Corp. 

(N.  H.),  248 


Upper   Mills,   Milton,   Mass., 

64,  149 
Upper     Road,     Dorchester, 

Mass.,  147 
Upper  Stepney,  Conn.,  404 
Upper    Waterford,    Vt.,    225, 

229,  261 
Upson     family     of     Wolcott, 

Conn.,  386 
Upton,  Mass.,  194,  195 
Utica,  N.  Y.,  40 
Utley's  tavern  in  Wellington, 

Conn.,  344 
Uxbridge,  Mass.,  76,  299,  300 
tavern  in,  76 


Valley  Falls,  R.  I.,  310 
Valley  Falls  Turnpike  (R.  I.), 

310 
Valley     Street,     Providence, 

R.  I.,  310 
Value  of  turnpike  stock,  140, 

192,  194,  199 
Van  Deusen,  Jacob,  186 
Van  Dykes,  lumbermen,  229 
Vaughn's    Bridge,    Portland, 

Maine,  no,  196 
Vergennes,  Vt,  249,  267,  273 
Vermont,  early  public-service 
commissions,  34 


eight  companies  formed  in 
one  act,  31,  266,  267,  268, 
269 
Vermont     Central     Railroad, 

257,  258 
Vermont    House,     Wilming- 
ton, Vt.,  254 
Vernon,  Conn.,  367 

R.  I.,  314,  315 
Vesta's  Gap,  Va.,  7 
Villages,  early,  25 
Virginia,     bond     issues     for 
good  roads,  411 
efforts  to  abolish  gates,  411 


expense    of    maintaining 

roads,  411 
free   of   tollgates    in    1925, 

412 
program  of  road  construc- 
tion, 411 
state   highway    system, 
412 
Vergennes  and  Bristol  Plank 

Road  Co.  (Vt.),  281 
Vergennes    and    Willsboro 

Turnpike   (Vt.),  273 
Voluntown,     Conn.,     402, 
403 


W^ages,  Hingham  and  Quincy 
Turnpike,  178 

Wagons,  37,  43 

Wait,  Samuel,  mill  owner,  185 

Waitsfield,  Vt.,  272 

Wait's  Mills,  Roxbury,  Mass., 
163,  184,  185 

Walden,  Vt.,  264 

Wales,  Mass.,  159 

Wales,  Asa  B.,  hotel  of,  117 

Walker  Brook,  Becket,  Mass., 
128 
Chester,  Mass.,  199 
Townsend,  Mass.,  78 

Walker,  Squire  George,  sur- 
veyor, 202 

[458] 


w 

Walker  Street,  Lenox,  Mass., 

78 
Walkley     Hill,     Haddam, 

Conn.,  368 
Wallen's  Hill,  Conn.,  348 
Wallingford,  Conn.,  349 
Wallingford,    North    Haven, 

and    New    Haven    Plank 

Road  Co.   (Conn.),  408 
Wallum  Pond  Hill,  see  Allum 

Pond  Hill 
W^alpole,   Mass.,  27,  95,   140, 

170 
opposition  of,  95 
N.  H.,  79,  219 
Waltham,  Mass.,  52,  169,  189 


Waltham  Turnpike  (Vt), 
267,  273 

Walton's  Bridge,  Chester, 
Mass.,  193 

Wamgumbaug  Lake  (Conn.), 
354 

Wampum  Station,  New  York, 
New  Haven,  and  Hart- 
ford Railroad,  170 

War  chariots,  43 

War  of  the  Wheels,  45 

Wardsboro,  Vt.,  274 

Ware,  Mass..  133 

Warner,  N.  H.,  241 

Warner  and  Kearsarge  Turn- 
pike (N.  H.),  240 


INDEX 


Warner's     Ferry,     Hadlyme, 

Conn.,  405,  406 
Warren,    Mass.,   63,   64,    176, 
192,  351 
N.  H.,  227,  233,  243 
invested    in     Moosilauke 

Mountain  Road,  243 
R.  I.,  157,  187,  324 
Vt.,  272,  278,  279 
Warren     Street,     Boston, 
Mass.,  147 
Brookline,  Mass.,  161 
Warren    Turnpike     (Conn.), 

80,  379,  383 
Warren  Turnpike  (Vt.),  278 
Warren  Village,  N.  H.,  244 
Warwick,  Mass.,  69,  70 

R.  I.,  310,  317 
Warwick    and    Irwin's    Gore 
Turnpike  Corp.  (Mass.), 
131 
Washington,    General,    or- 
dered Bayley-Hazen  road 
built,  264 
President,  76,  97,  342 
Washington,  Conn.,  342,  372 
D.  C,  17 
Mass.,  199 
R.  I.,  310,  311 
Washington     Avenue,     Sey- 
mour, Conn.,  371 
Washington       Mountain 

(Mass.),  199 
Washington  Street,  Boston,  94, 
95, 147, 160, 185, 189,193,207 
Brookline,  162,  190 
Dedham,  Mass.,  90 
Dorchester,  Mass.,  207 
Norfolk  and  Bristol  Turn- 
pike, so  named  through- 
out, 94 
North  Attleboro,  Mass.,  90 
Quincy,  Mass.,  181 
Roxbury,  Mass.,  164 
Somerville,  Mass.,  155 
Stoughton    and    Easton, 

Mass.,  171 
Weymouth,  Mass.,  115,  131 
Washington        Turnpike 

(Conn.),  372,  374,  375 
Washington     Village,     South 

Boston,  142,  144 
Watchemocket    Square,   East 

Providence,  R.  I.,  202 
Water   bars   on    Peru   Turn- 
pike (Vt),  277 
Waterbury,  Conn.,  340,  365 
Waterbury     River     (Conn.), 
361,    362,    365,    366,    385, 
386,  409 
Waterbury     River    Turnpike 
(Conn.),    365,    371,    374, 
388,  394 
Waterbury  Street,  Vt.,  280 
Waterbury     and     Cheshire 
Plank  Road  (Conn.),  409 
Waterford,    Conn.,   335,    359, 
379 
Vt.,  269 


Waterman    Avenue,    Center- 
dale,  R.  I.,  308 
Waterman,     Widow,     tavern 

of,  308 
Water-Quechee  River   (Vt.), 

272 
Water  routes,  177 

for  Quincy  Granite,  207 
Watertown,   Conn.,   340,   341, 
366,  374,  393 
Mass.,  190,  196 
refused  tender  of  Hancock 
Free  Bridge  Corp.,  197 
Watertown  Arsenal,  193,  196 
Watertown    Square,    Water- 
town,     Mass.,     193,     195, 
196 
Watertown     (Mass.),    Turn- 
pike, 190,  191,  193,  196 
Waterville,  Maine,  106 
Watson,  B.  Marston,  clerk  of 

corporation,  124 
Wattle  Ferry,  Penn.,  345 
Watuppa    Pond,    Fall    River, 

Mass.,  324 
Waumbeck  Road  (N.  H.),242 
Waverley     Street,     Framing- 
ham,  Mass.,  195 
Wayland,  Mass.,  25 
Weathersfield  Turnpike  (  Vt.) , 

262 
Webster,  Mass.,  195,  198 
Webster,  Daniel,  275 
Webster     Street,     Douglas, 

Mass.,  198 
Webster     Taverns,     Bridge- 
water,  N.  H.,  227 
Wee     Burn     Country     Club, 

Noroton,  Conn.,  377 
Weeks,     Senator    John     W., 
owner    of    Mount    Pros- 
pect, 247 
Weir  Street,  Taunton,  Mass., 

137 

Weir  Village,  Mass.,  137 
Wellesley,  Mass.,  161,  195 
Wellesley  College,  195 
Wellesley  Square,  Wellesley, 

Mass.,  195 
Wellington      Hill,     Belmont, 

Mass.,  120,  122 
Wellington,   Jeduthan,   direc- 
tor, 120 
Wells  Hollow,  Conn.,  403 
Wells     Hollow     Turnpike 

(Conn.),  403 
Wells    River,    Vt.,    249,    265, 

269,  271 
Wells  River  Bridge,  265 
new  free,  266 
tendered  to  town,  266 
Wells'    Tavern,     Manchester 

Green,  Conn.,  344 
Wentworth,  N.  H.,  223 
Wentworth,  Gov.  Benning,249 
West  Acton,  Mass.,  134 
West  Andover,  N.  H.,  231 
West  Ash  ford,  Conn.,  343 
West  Becket,  Mass.,  128 


West  Becket  Village,  Mass.,  204 
West     Boston     Bridge,     119, 

120,    121,    122,    127,    151, 

152,    188,    189,    193,    195, 

236 
assumed  by  Cambridge,  197 
diversion     by     Watertown 

Turnpike,  196 
incorporated,  189 
location,  189 

offset  to  Watertown  Turn- 
pike, 196 
rates  of  toll,  189 
road  to  Watertown,  191 
West    Branch    of    Westfield 

River   (Mass.),  74 
West     Bridgewater,     Mass., 

172 
West   Cambridge,   Mass.,   52, 

151,  152,  153 
West  Central  Street,  Natick, 

Mass.,  195 
West     Chapel     Street,     New 

Haven,  Conn.,  347 
West   Cornwall,    Conn.,    371, 

372 
West  End,  Boston,  Mass.,  195 
West  Fitchburg,  Mass.,  131 
West    Fourth    Street,    South 

Boston,  Mass.,  141,  142 
West     Glocester     Turnpike 

(R.    I.),    290,    296,    297, 

314,  373 
West  Greenwich,   R.   I.,  296, 

315 
West  Hartford,  Conn.,  358 
West  Jamaica,  Vt.,  274 
West  Lynn,  Mass.,  85 
West     Middle    Turnpike 

(Conn.),  373 
West    Norfolk,    Conn.,    gate 

in,  349 
West  Otis,  Mass.,,  209 
West  Point  Turnpike  (N.  Y.), 

399 
West  River,  Guilford,  Conn., 

393 
Madison,  Conn.,  393 
West    River     Street,    Provi- 
dence, R.  I.,  301 
West     River    Turnpike     Co. 

(Vt.),  283 
West  Road,  Portsmouth,  R.  I., 

298 
West  Roxbury,  Mass.,  185 
West  Scarboro,  Maine,  106 
West   Simsbury,  Conn.,  361 
West  Springfield,  Mass.,  187 
West  Stockbridge.  Mass.,  166, 

167,  173,  181,  182,  191 
West    Stockbridge    and    Al- 

ford   Turnpike    (Mass.), 

176,  191 
West  Street,  Concord,  N.  H., 

231 
Pittsfield,  Mass.,  67 
West  Townsend,  Mass.,  157 
West  Wardsboro,  Vt,  274 
Westboro,  Mass.,  161,  201 

[459] 


INDEX 


Westcott's     Road,     Mendon, 

Mass.,  76 
Westchester  Turnpike  (N.Y.), 

377 

Westerly,  R.  I.,  25,  292,  315, 

316,  317,  322,  390 
Western,   Mass.,  63,  64,   176, 
192,  35i 
also  see  Warren,  Mass. 
Western    Avenue,    Boston, 
Mass.,  191 
Cambridge    and    Brighton, 

Mass.,  196 
Lynn,  Mass.,  81 
Western  Bridge,  64 
Western  Railroad,  201,  204 

under  construction  209 
Westfield,  Mass.,  73,  74 

Vt.,  249 
Westfield    River,    Mass.,    73, 
74,  119,  176,  199,  200,  204 
Westford,  Conn.,  3915 

Mass.,  175,  183 
Westford     and     Lexington 
Turnpike  Corp.  (Mass.), 
175,  183,  236 
Westhaven,  Vt.,  267 
Westminster,  Conn.,  354,  382 

Mass.,  131 
Westminster     meeting-house 

(Mass.),  69 
Westminster    Street,    Arling- 
ton, Mass.,  155 
Providence,     R.     I.,     294, 

325 
Westmoreland      Turnpike 

Corp.  (N.  H.),  248 
Weston,  Conn.,  339,  396,  397 

401,  402,  404,  405,  406 
Weston     Turnpike     (Conn.), 

401 
Westport,  Mass.,  324,  402 
Westville,  Conn.,  340,  341, 371 

Mass.,  202,  203 
Westwood,  Mass.,  138 
Wetherell   and   Bennett,   om- 
nibus line,  305 
Wethersfield,  Conn.,  349,  368 
Weybosset    Street,    Provi 

dence,  R.  I.,  292,  315 
Weybridge,  Vt.,  267 
Weymouth,    Mass.,    117,    131, 

132,  177,  178 
allowed  toll  on  bridges,  181 
Weymouth     Back     River, 

Mass.,   176 
Weymouth  Fore  River,  Mass 

117,  176 
Weymouth  granite,   190 
Wharf      Bridge,      Norwich, 

Conn.,  398 
Wheels  in  1790,  47 
Whisky,  47 
White,   David,   authorized  to 

call  meeting,  66 
Deacon  John,  house  of,  176 
Moses,  contractor,  73 
White    Horse    Tavern,    Bos 

ton,  Mass.,  88 

[460] 


White    Mountains,    223,    238, 

277 
White     Mountain     Division 

Boston  and  Maine  Rail- 
road, 233 
White  Mountains  Plank  Road 

Corp.  (N.  H.),  248 
White    Mountain    Turnpike 

(N.  H.),  242 
White    River,    Vt.,   220,   257, 

258,  260 
White    River    Falls    Bridge, 

220 
White  River  Junction,  Vt.,  256 
White  River,  second  branch, 

257,  271 
White  River  Turnpike  (Vt.), 

256,  257,  271 
White     River     Valley     Rail- 
road, 258 
Whitefield    Road,    Lancaster, 

N.  H.,  247 
White's    Monument,    Bolton, 

Conn.,  338,  343,  344 
Whiting,  Lemuel,  stage,  258 
Whiting     Street,     Hingham, 

Mass.,  115 
Whiting's    Pond,    Douglas, 

Mass.,  183 
Whitman,  Mass.,  131 
Whitney,  Eli,  inventor,  357 
Whitney  Avenue,  New  Haven, 

Conn.,  349 
Whitney,  Lake,  Conn.,  350 
Whitney's  Gun  Factory,  New 

Haven,  Conn.,  357 
Whitneyville,  Conn.,  357 
Whittemore,     Rev.     Thomas, 

accident  to,   179 
Whittier    Tavern,    Hampton, 

N.  H.,  235 
Wickford,  R.  I.,  306,  317,  402 
Wickford   Turnpike   Co. 

(R.  I.),  306 
Wickford    and    Pawcatuck 

Turnpike  Co..(R.  I.),  317. 
Wide  tires,  12,  13,  45,  61,  121 
Wilbraham,  Mass.,  65,  192 
\\  ilbraham    Turnpike    Corp. 

(Mass.),  191,  399,  400 
Wild  Cat  Road   (Conn.),  339 
Wilkinson,  Isaac,  built  Valley 

Falls    Turnpike    (R.  I.), 

310 
Major  James,  264 
Oziel,  91,  310 

made  shovels,  37 
Wilkinsonville   Factory,    Sut- 
ton, Mass.,  201 
Wilkinsonville     Turnpike 

Corp.   (Mass.),  201 
Willard,     Benjamin,     land- 
owner, 135 
Willey     family,     Crawford 

Notch,  224 
Willey     House,     Crawford 

Notch,  224,  225 
WHliam    Street,    Fall    River, 

Mass.,  325 


Williams,     Andrew,    petition 
of,  309 
Benjamin    S.,    accident    to, 

179 
Nathan,  house  of,  301,  312 
Williamsburg,  Mass.,  149 
Williamsburg    and    Windsor 
Turnpike  Corp.  (Mass.), 
149 
Williamstown,  Mass.,  206 
Williamstown  Center,  Mass., 

69 
Williamstown    Center    Turn- 
pike  (Vt.),  260 
Williamstown,  Vt.,  252,  260 
Williamstown    Turnpike 

(Mass.),  67,  134 
Willimantic,   Conn.,   141,  343, 
353,  354,  382,  383,  407 
gate  in,  383 
Willimantic     (Conn.)    Alms- 
house, 407 
Willimantic    (Conn.)    Ceme- 
tery, 407 
Willimantic      Reservoir 

(Conn  ),  343 
Willimantic    River    (Conn.), 

.  343,  353.  383,  396 
Willimantic   Road,    Columbia 

and  Hebron,  Conn.,  383 
Willimantic    (Conn.),   water- 
works, 356 
Willington,    Conn.,    194,    342, 

356,  383,  396 
Williston  Turnpike  Co.  (Vt.), 

284 
Williston   and  Jericho   Plank 

Road  Co.  (Vt.),  284 
Willoughby     Lake     Turnpike 

Co.   (Vt.),  284 
Willoughby    Tavern,    Salem, 

Conn.,  399 
Willow  Grove,  Penn.,  16 
Willsboro,  New  York,  273 
Wilmington,     Vt.,     250,    253, 

254 
Wilmot  and  Kearsarge  Turn- 
pike Corp.  (N.  H.),  245 
Wilton,  Conn.,  339,  401,  402 
VVinchendon,  Mass.,  131,  157 
1830,  map  of,  157 
fare  from  Boston,  52 
Winchester,  Conn.,  348,  365 

N.  H.,  70,  222,  234 
Winchestertown,  8  ' 
Windham,     Conn.,    313,    352, 

353.  356,  397,  407 
Windham  County,  Conn.,  first 

settlers,  352 
Windham    County,    Vt.,    post 
road  through,  249 
west  towns  of,  384 
Windham  Frog  Fight,  397 
Windham  Green,  Conn.,  354, 

356,  397 
Windham  Turnpike  (Conn.), 

352,  382,  383,  397,  407 
Windham     Turnpike      (Vt.), 
253,  276,  279 


INDEX 


Windham     and     Brooklyn 

Turnpike   (Conn.),  397 
Windham     and     Mansfield 

Turnpike    (Conn.),    345, 

356 
Windsor,  Mass.,  149 
Vt,  235,  256,  257 

fare  from  Boston,  52 
Windsor    County,    Vt.,    post 

road  through,  249 
Windsor     and     Woodstock 

Turnpike  (Vt.),  256 
Winhall,  Vt.,  277 
Winhall  Turnpike  Co.  (Vt.), 

283 
Winnepesaukee,  Lake,  222 
Winnepiseogee     Turnpike 

Corp.  (N.  H.),  248 
Winnepiseogee     and-     White 

Mountains      Turnpike 

Corp.  (N.  H.),  237 
Winnesimmit  Ferryways,  81 
Winooski     River,     Vt.,     252, 

253 
Winooski     Turnpike     (Vt.), 

268,  269 
Winsocket    Turnpike     Corp., 

140,  146 
Winter  Hill,  Mass.,  114 
Winthrop,  Mass.,  80 
Winthrop  Avenue,  Lawrence, 

Mass.,  129 
Winthrop     Street,     Taunton, 

Mass.,  203 
Winthrop    Swamp,    Wood- 
stock, Conn.,  396 
Win  slow    House,    Wilmot, 

N.  H.,  245 
Winsted,     Conn.,     348,     387, 

.  388 
Wiscasset,    Maine,    114,    130, 

141 
Wiscasset  Road,  130 
Wiscasset  and  Augusta  Turn- 
pike   (Maine),    114,    130, 

145,  2" 
Wiscasset  and  Dresden  Turn- 

pike    Corp.    (Maine), 

141 
Wiscasset    and    Woolwich 

Turnpike    (Maine),    130, 

145,  211 
Witmer,  Albert,  11 
Witmer's  Bridge,  11 
Woburn,  Mass.,  152,  154 


Woburn  Turnpike  and  Dra- 
cut  Bridge  Corp. (Mass.), 
185 

Wolcott,  Conn.,  365,  386 
tollgate  in,  386 

Wolcott  and  Hampden  Turn- 
pike Co.  (Conn.),  409 

Wolcottsville,  Conn.,  387,  388 

Wolcottsville  Turnpike  Co. 
(Conn.),  388 

Wolf    Hill,    old    road    over 

(R.  L),  307 
Wolf     Neck,      Stonington, 

Conn.,  390 
Wonalancet,  N.  H.,  237 
Wood,    Ephraim,    petitioner, 

134 
Woodbridge,  Conn.,  365,  371 
Woodbridge's  Tavern  in  East 

Hartford,  Conn.,  344 
Woodbridge   and   Waterbury 

Turnpike    Co.     (Conn.), 

410 
Woodbury,    Conn.,    372,    374, 

375,  392,  393,  399,  409 
Woodbury     and     Seymour 

Plank  Road  Co.  (Conn.) 

409 
Woodcock,   John,   early   inn- 
keeper, 89 
Woodford,  Vt.,  281 
Woodford  City,  Vt.,  254 
Woodstock,   Conn.,    194,   362 

380,  381,  396 
Vt.,  256,  257,  258 
Woodstock     and     Lincoln 

Turnpike  Corp.  (N.  H.), 

246 
Woodstock     and     Rutland 

Turnpike  (Vt.),  272,  279 
Woodstock     and     Somers 

Turnpike   (Conn.),  381 
Woodstock     and     Thompson 

Turnpike    (Conn.),    380, 

381 
Woodsville,  N.  H.,  249,  265 
Woodward    Street,    Newton, 

Mass.,  163 
Woonasquatucket      River 

(R.  I.)  294,  309,  310 
Woonasquatucket      Turnpike 

(R.  I.),  309,  320 
Woonsocket,  R.  I.,  27 
Woonsocket    Falls    Turnpike 

Co.  (R.  I.),  327 


Woonsocket  Road,  170 
Worcester,  Mass.,  25,  50,  51, 

53,  63,  64,  69,  73,  75,  157, 

158,    159,    160,    161,    166, 

185,    187,    201,    235,    323, 

367,  37A  400 
fare  from  Boston,  52 
might   operate   toll   bridge, 

166 
Post  Road  in,  158 
Worcester  County,  Mass.,  64, 

70 
proceedings  in,  75,  76,  131,  . 

134,  136,  157,  158,  159,  166, 

169,    182,    183,    192,    198, 

199 
Worcester    Street,    Wellesley 

and  Natick,  166 
Worcester  Turnpike  (Mass.), 

160,    185,    188,    189,    190, 

194,  195,  396 
Worcester     Turnpike     Co. 

(R.  I.),   (2),  326,  327 
Worcester     and     Fitzwilliam 

Turnpike     (Mass.),    157, 

222,  235 
Worcester     and     Leicester 

Turnpike  Corp.  (Mass.), 

187 
Worcester     and      Stafford 

Turnpike     (Mass.),    158, 

367,  372 
Worcester  and  Sutton  Turn- 
pike Corp.   (Mass.),  185 
Woronoco,  Mass.,  75 
Worthington  Turnpike  Corp., 

(Mass.),  67 
Wrentham    (Mass.),    27,    89, 

91,  95,  98,  170,  188,  294 
Wrentham      Branch      New 

York,   New   Haven,   and 

Hartford  Railroad,  170 
Wrentham    and    Attleboro 

Turnpike  Corp.  (Mass.), 

188 
Wrentham     and     Walpole 

Turnpike  (Mass.),  170 
Wright's    Tavern,    Wethers- 
field,  Conn.,  350 
Wyman,  Abel,  landowner,  151 
Wyoming,  R.  I.,  316,  317 
Wyoming     County,     N.     Y., 

emigration  to,  353 
Wyoming     Street,     Boston, 

Mass.,  147 


Yale,    Samuel,    house    of, 

350 
Yantic,  Conn.,  338 
Yantic  River  (Conn.),  398 


Young,  Joseph,  70 
Yonge  Street,  Toronto,  40 
Yorktown,  Penn.,  8 
York  Gate  (Md.),  9 


York  Road,  Philadelphia.  14 
York     Street,     New     Haven, 

Conn.,  347,  348 
York  Turnpike  (Md.),  10 


Zane,  Ebenezer,  23,  24 
Zane's  Trace,  24 
Zanesville,  Ohio,  23 


Zigzag  line,  282 
Zoar  Bridge,  Conn., 
398 


346,  397, 


Zoar    Bridge    Turnoike    Co. 
(Conn.),  397 

[461] 


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